Loneliness

 

Chuck Swindoll once spoke about a newspaper ad he saw in a Nebraska newspaper. The advertisement stated, “I will listen to you talk for thirty minutes without comment for $5.” That might seem crazy to some, but Swindoll related that the young man who placed the ad was soon receiving ten to twenty calls per day, as strangers would pay him money to listen to whatever was on their heart. This is a reminder that there are lonely people all around us who are desperate for human contact. There are people who are praying for a telemarketer to call just so they will have someone to talk to. 

 

Adrian Rogers wrote that eight out of every ten people who seek psychiatric help do so as a result of loneliness. Pastor James Merritt said that when people feel lonely they should reach up to Jesus and reach out to others. We can reach up to Jesus because He knows what it is like to be lonely. As readers may well know, you can be alone and not be lonely, and you can be lonely without being alone. Jesus felt all alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, even though His disciples were asleep in that garden. He felt all alone at His trial, even though Peter was just outside the room denying Him. Jesus felt all alone on the cross, even though John and Mary were standing at His feet.   

 

We can reach up to Jesus because He knows what it is like to be lonely. We can pray and ask Jesus to comfort us when we feel down, and we will find that He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. We can also reach out to others because there are other people who can use our company. If you are lonely, why not reach out to someone else who is lonely? Invite them out for a cup of coffee or to have lunch. If you are lonely and they are lonely, you can help yourself while you are helping someone else. Please do not be afraid to reach out to someone if you need help.

 

The writer of Psalm 102 felt lonely. He described himself as being afflicted and overwhelmed, like a sparrow eating all alone on a rooftop. The psalmist said he was so miserable that that he forgot to eat his food. I have forgotten many things, but I have never forgotten to eat. When he did eat, he said he ate ashes and drank his tears. Ashes referred to a person in mourning who would dress in sackcloth and spread ashes on his forehead. He was so accustomed to mourning, so frequently spreading ash on his head that he would inhale it; the steady stream of tears running down his face became his drink to wash down the ashes. 

 

But the psalm turns on a dime in verse twelve when he says, “But You, O LORD, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations.” The Christian who is lonely can reach up to Jesus and reach out to others, but he must also let his worship reach the throne of God. It is easy to say we don’t feel like worshipping God, but if we make worship a habit, it will go a long way towards making us feel better. Worship keeps things in perspective, so if you are feeling down, reach up.