Their Favorite One: When You Feel Lonely

We finish our summer devotions this morning, and I ask the girls which one was their favorite. Which one meant the most to them?

My oldest says that it's definitely Number 12, the one about feeling lonely.

I realize that she's not alone in the lonely. I've talked to so many women--young and old--who feel the pain of loneliness. This devotion comforted my daughter, so perhaps it will comfort you.

12.  What if I Feel Lonely?

Have you felt lonely before? It is one of the worst emotions in the whole world. You feel alone, disconnected, unloved, forgotten, and depressed. You’re lonely! You think you have no friends and no hope for community.

You’re lonely!

I’ve been lonely before. Most everyone I know has felt lonely. I feel lonely when I just miss having company around. I feel lonely when I don’t know who my companions on this life’s journey are.

What’s a girl to do?  I’ve learned two secrets to cure a lonely heart. Are you ready?

1. Cry out to God like King David did. He says in Psalm 25, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely!” When we cry out to God to send us companions, He responds by taking care of us. David says later in Psalm 68 that God, “sets the lonely in families.” All through your life, remember to cry out to God to send you fellowship and companionship. He will. It might take time, but He will. Every time I have prayed for fellowship, God has been faithful.

I also have learned that sometimes God allows loneliness because it forces me to make God my True Companion and find rest in His love alone. He never leaves us! He is always with us!

2. Go Be a Blessing to Someone. When I was 18 years old, I left to spend my summer in a new place where I had absolutely no friends. All the girls my age were from the same sorority, and they were beautiful, popular, happy, and busy. Nobody had time for a new friend. Nobody paid any attention to me.

One night, after crying about my loneliness, a woman came to find me in the woods where I was crying. She said, “Stop worrying about whether or not people like you. Just go into a room and ask yourself who you can be a blessing to. Go find people to encourage. You’ll never be lonely again.” Guess what? That conversation changed my life forever. I walked back to where all those popular, beautiful girls were, and I spoke words of love and encouragement. It didn’t matter whether they paid any attention to me. I was there to serve! I was there to encourage! Within a few days, those girls started to seek me out. They wanted to spend more time with me because it was a blessing to them.

Scripture teaches in Isaiah 58:9

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
      with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
      and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
      and your night will become like the noonday.
¹¹ The Lord will guide you always;
      he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
      and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
      like a spring whose waters never fail.

Basically, if you stop thinking about yourself all day long and think about satisfying the needs of others, your light will shine. That means you don’t have time to be lonely! 

Lonely? Cry Out to God and Seek to Bless Others

To Do:

·       Thank God:

·       Ask God:

·       Looking Back:  Have you felt lonely before? What was that like?

·       Looking Ahead: Is there someone you can think of that needs some encouragement today?