Lonely?

Be sure of this: I am with you always (Matthew 28:20).

Are you lonely? Do you have a hard time making friends because you’re shy? Do you stay away from parties because you never know what to say or how to act? Or have you lost someone precious to you, and there doesn’t seem to be anything that can fill the hole in your heart?

Loneliness might be a new experience for you. Maybe you have always been popular, but now all your friends have died or moved away, leaving you surprised at how quiet your life has gotten. Maybe there have just been one or two important people in your life, and now that they’re gone you feel lost, unsure of what to do next. Or perhaps you and loneliness go back a long way together. Maybe you were an only child who didn’t have many opportunities to spend time with other kids. Maybe you couldn’t think fast or weren’t very coordinated, so you watched other kids play games instead of participating. Or maybe you have always been interested in different things than other people are, so you find little to talk about with your coworkers during coffee break.

The effects of loneliness can be devastating. All the way back in the Garden of Eden, God said that being alone was not a good thing. Loneliness can play tricks with your mind. When you are alone, every strange sound in the night sounds frightening. When you are alone, problems can seem overwhelming because you have no one to turn to for advice or ask for help. Worst of all, when you are alone you start to wonder if anyone loves you.

In spite of how you feel, I can assure you that you are not alone. Jesus said, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (Revelation 3:20). Jesus is waiting to be part of your life! He knows what it is to feel lonely; when He was dying on the cross to pay for your sins, He experienced the worst isolation of all—separation from the love of God. It was at that darkest of times that the Savior cried out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) Jesus understands the horrors of loneliness better than anyone. That was why He endured loneliness in your place—so that you need never be separated from the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Jesus made a wonderful promise to those who love Him—I am with you always. Welcome Jesus into your life, and you will never be alone.