Lonely people: Part 1

I read this comment on a Facebook page …’I feel so lonely all the time,I don’t know why..I am so blessed,I have a beautiful family,they are healthy,I have a home,car,food everything  I  need,I just feel so lonely.”  There are many causes of loneliness; We may choose to be alone,because we are shy,or have fears which produce loneliness. We may have gone through the death of a loved one. We may have drug or alcohol addictions that leave us feeling very alone. We may be in a marriage or relationship that is lacking love and respect. You may feel lonely due to an illness. Whatever the reason behind being lonely,you are not alone. There are many lonely people in the world today. In fact,despite this electronic-controlled age,the numbers are increasing. Lonely people are in every profession,every economic level,every age group. It is no respecter of persons. Some marriages foster loneliness when the partners do not share the same values or interests. We move from one location to another more frequently than a generation earlier,and so there is no longer a support system of friends and family. No wonder Mother Teresa said  “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”                  

Psychiatrist and author Dr Leonard Zunin said “loneliness is mankind’s biggest problem. It is the major reason behind the many and varied symptoms which I see in the people who present themselves before me day after day”.  How would you define loneliness?  “Loneliness is not  being alone. That’s solitude. It’s feeling alone”

One young man headed for a department  store to do some shopping. He noticed an old man sipping a cup of coffee in the snack area. Thinking the old man looked lonely,the shopper decided to speak to him. Pulling up a chair next to the seemingly lonely man,he wished him a good morning. The man looked up in surprise and said,”You’re the first person who has said good morning to me in years.” After a long conversation,the shopper turned to the elderly man and said,”I’ve got to go now,but I want to shake your hand.”  Happily the man offered his hand,saying,”I can’t remember the last time I shook hands with anyone.” This is real stuff of life,unfortunately.
A hospital chaplain was talking with a patient one day and casually remarked .. “Will you be having visitors while you’re here?” “I’m afraid not,” the patient said quietly. “You see,I don’t have a friend in the whole world. They say I was nearly dead when I came here. Good thing I dialed for help when I did.” “Is there anyone who knows you?” the chaplain said in disbelief. “No,sir. I’m telling you the truth. I had a phone put in,hoping that somebody would call a wrong number and for a few moments I’d think that someone was actually thinking about me. But the phone never rings.” A few tears ran from his eyes,but then he stopped speaking altogether because the experience was so painful to talk about. How sad that things like this occur every day. My guess is that there are lonely people all around us,if only we had the insight to realize this sense of desolation is very real for some.

If you’re lonely this morning,let me say God can help. Even King David felt lonely..he wrote in Psalm 142:4  “you won’t see anyone who cares enough to walk beside me. There is no place to hide,and no-one really cares”. He had been hiding in a cave in fear of his life,and he thought his days were numbered. Alone,he called out to God for help,but he felt no-one understood what was facing him.

God helps us in our loneliness. Psalm 31:14,14 “I trust you,Lord,and I claim you as my God. My life is in your hands”. God doesn’t want to love me from a distance; he invites me to draw near. James 4:8 says,”Draw close to God and God will draw close to you” (NLT).Have you spoken to God about your feelings of loneliness? Maybe you need to change the way you think .. Many are lonely because they refuse to change their thinking about aloneness. They’re like the little boy who was afraid of going to bed in the dark. His father said to him,”Son,you don’t have to be afraid. Jesus is with you.” And the boy replied,”I know,Dad,but I want someone with skin on.” That’s when we need to make the effort to connect with others,and be friendly – reach out. God will do His part in leading us to good people who will interact with us,and take the journey with us.