“Our hearts our lonely till they rest in Him who made us for Himself.”—Elisabeth Elliot
Loneliness can be a debilitating feeling. It can make us feel unloved, even despairing. It can make us feel that we are the only people in the world experiencing it at that moment. But we are not. Though painful, loneliness can be a tremendous blessing for the believer. Loneliness makes us acutely aware that we were made for something more. We were made for community. And not just a fellowship with each other, but most importantly, fellowship with the Father. Every twinge of loneliness reminds us of our need. So often we fill our need with other things that leave us wanting, and more lonely than before, when in reality our hearts are crying out for our greatest need—God, Himself. All of the other “fillers” are sad substitutes for our rest in the Savior. We are never alone because we have fellowship with the Father through Christ. When all around us is isolating, God has not forgotten. He is there.
Not only is loneliness a cause for dependence on the Father, it also affords us more fellowship with the sufferings of our Christ. No one faced the loneliness that he faced on the Cross. He, unlike any of us, was for a time abandoned by the Father so that we would never be abandoned by Him. What hope! Even in our despondency we can know that we are not alone. And it is in these times that we need to be reminded that our feelings are not always reality. Jesus knows what it means to be alone. Let Him be your rest.
We were made for fellowship with the Father. Rest in the Son, dear Christian, who purchased that fellowship with His own blood. “What a friend we have in Jesus” is a true statement indeed.
Two things you said, Courtney, that really stand out for me. "Feelings are not always reality" is true. They are not always, but sometimes they are just how we feel. Secondly, the awesome statement that"He was abandoned by God, so we wouldn't be abandoned by Him" That has proven to be my mainstay in so many times of loss and loneliness. He will never leave me nor forsake me(Heb.13:5)comes to mind. People will leave and forsake you. Life will throw you curve balls and difficulties, but through all of them we have the assurance that God is always there and He is for us and with us(Psalm 23:4-the word for "valley of the shadow of death" really means "valley of the shadow of darkness") Even when we don't feel it, He is there. Christ's sufferings for us made that possible. What a glorious truth! One we can rest on. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMomma,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right to point out that even though our feelings are not reality at that moment, they sure feel like reality when we are experiencing them. Thank you for reminding me of that. It's a lot easier said than done.
Thanks for commenting.
love you.