Feeling alone is a frapped up way to live life, but it the reality that most of us face. Even the infamous introvert faces these moments of loneliness and need to find connection somewhere.
What do you do in those moments when you feel...down? Anxious? Alone? Unheard and misunderstood?
I think that I tried to make the solution to these issues too complicated. I thought there had to be something big and complex to overcome what I felt like the giant monster in my life. Makes sense right? The bigger the beast the bigger the gun to kill it with.
What if it isn't so complicated? What if our logic is more assumption than fact?
I think that this is an important lesson that God is teaching me right now.
First and foremost, lets get the Sunday school answer on out of the way! Christ is always with us. Reality. Fact. Another fact is that I will never fully grasp that. I can't see Him, and when things are "out of sight"...well, you know the saying. It isn't always enough to know He is present. Should it be? Ha, why you asking me?!
I think loneliness is a sign, like all emotions, that there is a "need" in our lives that isn't being met or that there is a wound that isn't healed.
Most of us have stuff that we aren't dealing with. We don't want to. I mean, why should I?! It hurts! But until I do, I will never experience the fullness of life and joy; the healthiness that God wants for me.
So how do I deal with loneliness?
SS Answer: Pray. This actually is a huge remedy for me! I was super lonely and attention-needy last night, and I knew it so I started praying: resisting the desire to go find fulfillment in others (thank God my phone was dead!). After some time I just looked up at the stars and said, "I know You're there but I can't always remember it. You don't make this easy. Help 'cause I can't do this. I don't want to be attention seeking. I want to give not take."
God met me where I was last night and I had some of the most honest processing and praying I've had in quite some time. Can't always get into the mode though.
Sometimes you just need to find a friend. We were meant to be in community with others, so don't be afraid to rely on them! God is enough. God is all you need. You also need people. Paradox? Yes, but God is Lord over paradox. He is all we need and He made us to need people.
Sometimes you need to disconnect and go read a book. Use your imagination, exercise, draw, build, play a game, etc. Go have some fun. Something you enjoy. Something simple. Go find something to make you feel accomplished and productive.
I'm still learning how to deal with this stuff. Depression rears it's ugly head here and there. Loneliness creeps in. I can't sit by and expect it to just leave. I have to tell it to go, and then I have to fill that empty and cleaned out house with something beautiful and life-giving.
If you are lonely, I pray that God grants you peace and reveals His love of you to you that might find value in yourself. I pray that you find healing from whatever happened to you and are able to forgive the man (let's just face it...it's more likely a male) that hurt you. I pray that God put good, loving friends in your life who can be honest and can be compassionate towards you.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
What do you do in those moments when you feel...down? Anxious? Alone? Unheard and misunderstood?I think that I tried to make the solution to these issues too complicated. I thought there had to be something big and complex to overcome what I felt like the giant monster in my life. Makes sense right? The bigger the beast the bigger the gun to kill it with.
What if it isn't so complicated? What if our logic is more assumption than fact?
I think that this is an important lesson that God is teaching me right now.
First and foremost, lets get the Sunday school answer on out of the way! Christ is always with us. Reality. Fact. Another fact is that I will never fully grasp that. I can't see Him, and when things are "out of sight"...well, you know the saying. It isn't always enough to know He is present. Should it be? Ha, why you asking me?!
I think loneliness is a sign, like all emotions, that there is a "need" in our lives that isn't being met or that there is a wound that isn't healed.
Most of us have stuff that we aren't dealing with. We don't want to. I mean, why should I?! It hurts! But until I do, I will never experience the fullness of life and joy; the healthiness that God wants for me.
So how do I deal with loneliness?
SS Answer: Pray. This actually is a huge remedy for me! I was super lonely and attention-needy last night, and I knew it so I started praying: resisting the desire to go find fulfillment in others (thank God my phone was dead!). After some time I just looked up at the stars and said, "I know You're there but I can't always remember it. You don't make this easy. Help 'cause I can't do this. I don't want to be attention seeking. I want to give not take."
God met me where I was last night and I had some of the most honest processing and praying I've had in quite some time. Can't always get into the mode though.
Sometimes you just need to find a friend. We were meant to be in community with others, so don't be afraid to rely on them! God is enough. God is all you need. You also need people. Paradox? Yes, but God is Lord over paradox. He is all we need and He made us to need people.
Sometimes you need to disconnect and go read a book. Use your imagination, exercise, draw, build, play a game, etc. Go have some fun. Something you enjoy. Something simple. Go find something to make you feel accomplished and productive.
I'm still learning how to deal with this stuff. Depression rears it's ugly head here and there. Loneliness creeps in. I can't sit by and expect it to just leave. I have to tell it to go, and then I have to fill that empty and cleaned out house with something beautiful and life-giving.
If you are lonely, I pray that God grants you peace and reveals His love of you to you that might find value in yourself. I pray that you find healing from whatever happened to you and are able to forgive the man (let's just face it...it's more likely a male) that hurt you. I pray that God put good, loving friends in your life who can be honest and can be compassionate towards you.
Grace and Peace,
Stephen
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