Are You Lonely?

This blog is designed to give people an inner look at a devotional life. Taking time each day to spend time with the Lord. The hope is if you travel on this journey with Rev. Jacob Shaw, you may be more inclined to spend time with the Lord as well. I encourage the use of a devotional, a scripture reading and prayer, then finally some form of artistic mark to tie it all together. 

Today's devotional is taken from: Zacharias, Ravi. The Logic of God: 52 Christian Essentials for the Heart and Mind. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019. [E-Book] Chapter 47: Are You Lonely?

Opening Thought: When I read the title of today’s reading, Are You Lonely, I first thought of the song by Elvis Presley, Are You Lonesome Tonight?” Zacharias also begun his reading by noting the Elvis song. I remember as a child I heard that song a fare bit, my father being and Elvis fan, and as a result so am I, Elvis would often play in our home. When hearing this particular song as a child, it would give me a feeling of loneliness. Elvis sung the song in a tone of romantic loneliness. I was so young romance wasn’t even on my radar, but I knew the feeling of a lonely heart. When I was a child, I often felt lonely, I was a shy kid, did not make friends easily, so often I would sit at home alone and play on my own, wishing I had a friend.

We often think physical pain, emotional fear or anxiety are the worst experiences, but nothing breaks the heart more than loneliness. Now that I am an adult and have wonderful wife, I very rarely feel lonely. Though it can happen. But the sad thing for me now is when I see loneliness in others. It breaks my heart. It makes me feel like that little kid, vicariously, all over again. What I have noticed more recently, as I scroll through social media apps, is it is not just isolated children who are lonely but there are many adults who are still locked in that intense loneliness. It is as if the lonely child was frozen in time and they never found friendship, companionship, and I’m curious to know where their families are. How can people in world where individuals are so interconnected by technology be plague by such relentless loneliness.

The devotional begins with: Psalm 25:14-17

The Lord confides in those who fear Him, he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.

Second Thought: Zacharias makes a unique point that worshiping God helps rid us of loneliness. I want to run through a few basic reasons why I think this to be true. First, a belief in a God, who invites us to have a personal relationship by faith with Him, means in prayer and in living you are never alone. I think one of the reasons I believe in God, without a doubt, is because my prayer life grew rapidly from my loneliness as a child. If I ever felt alone, I spoke to God. Often, I would notice God would speak back in different was too. Second, a belief in a creator means that you recognize yourself as a vital and important part of God’s creation, it gives a confidence to the self, but it also ties your existence to the rest of existence. It is hard to feel lonely when you see yourself as a cog in a large machine. Thirdly, when we actually move from belief into worship, it helps us feel like we are serving ritually in our lives to a large meaning and purpose, this takes us from feeling like an island to being an active part in a bigger world. Sure, one can worship from home, alone, but worship is always best in group. Going to church gives a person a community, and rites and ritual to inspire and form their days around. There is the obvious social benefit of church, but more so than just the obvious group of people, there is also a unification of the spirits in the congregation, when people join voices in song and prayer. This unification is a living out of the one body of Christ, that is the church comes alive in worship. Finally, Christ calls us to go into the world to do good things and to make disciples. When we take our worship and live it out, we find so many ways to give back to others, which gives opportunity to make friends, and have genuine human connections. Loneliness becomes a thing of the past.

Continual Work: Ask yourself if you feel lonely and what changes to your worship life could you adopt to help heal your loneliness?

What Rev. Jacob is Working On: If I had infinite time, I would love to start a ministry program that targets lonely people, particularly ones online who feel isolated. I’m not sure how that would work as a ministry, maybe one has already been created, but it certainly seems like a needed initiative.

Prayer for your day: Jesus, be our friend, let us walk together in companionship, sharing stories of our days, and finding that solidarity in family. Help us so our hearts do not feel so lonely and encourage us to go out a help those who do. Amen.

Artistic Close: Nothing quite breaks the heart like lonely children and lonely animals. If you have a child or pet in your life, do a good thing and make sure they do not feel lonely.

Suspense (1877) by sir Edwin Landseer, a Victorian bloodhound mastiff waiting. Digitally enhanced from our own original plate.