By Chris WittsFriday 14 Jun 2024Morning Devotions with Chris WittsFaithReading Time: 1 minute
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Transcript:
Well, the statistics have been saying for quite some time an epidemic is spreading throughout the world. It’s not a physical disease, but it’s loneliness, and it’s affecting millions of people. Approximately 15 to 30 per cent of people suffer from prolonged feelings of loneliness, with severe implications for their physical and mental health.
It’s not limited to the older population, but loneliness affects all ages. I think if you entered a room full of people at a party, for example, you’d find it hard to pick which person felt mentally isolated. Is it someone sitting in a corner not attempting to make conversation? Or is it the one cracking jokes and lighting up the crowd? Loneliness is something that’s hard to identify.
And yet 1.25 billion people felt they were lonely or very lonely in 2023 according to the Global State of Connections report. One theory suggests that loneliness is also characterised by personality traits like feeling shy, social anxiety, hostility, sadness, low self esteem and these things can make a person less likely to share information about themselves with their peers and to say I am lonely requires a deal of courage and openness that many of us don’t have. It’s a feeling of being vulnerable and exposed. And research has shown that loneliness can have physical health consequences, including an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and weakened immune system.
It can contribute to unhealthy lifestyle habits, like a poor diet or lack of exercise. And I sense that loneliness is all around us, and we can create all these online communities or chat groups and instantly communicate with people across the world. And with access to so many human connections, you’d think that loneliness would be a thing of the past. We used to live in large, close knit groups with friends and relatives, but increasingly we live without these strong social ties. They’re not compatible with our modern lives anymore. The Internet and social media have made it easier to avoid real social situations, and even if you’re surrounded by other people, perhaps even loved ones, it can still be easy to feel lonely. Your friends, your family might not understand your problem, or what you’re going through.
The Swinburne University of Technology back in 2018 did a survey of 1678 people, and they found that one in four felt lonely three or more days a week, and one in three Australians never or rarely feel like they belong to a group of friends and half of all Australians report feeling lonely at least one day a week.
So it’s the silent epidemic. But here’s what I want to say this morning. Loneliness is not part of God’s design. In the Old Testament story of creation in Genesis, we read that God said it’s not good for the man he was talking about Adam to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.
God was very pleased with his creation, except man was alone without a companion. God made us for relationships to share life with others, including marriage. Not everyone, of course, wants to be married, but they still need close friends to help and nourish their lives in a positive way.
We are made for love, joy and acceptance. So when you feel isolated and alone, turn to God, the one person who will always understand what you’re going through. For He wants to be there for each one of us, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:6 – The eternal God is going with you. He will never fail or abandon you. He’s omnipresent.
That means he’s always there. People may live too far away from their loved ones for them to be helpful, or they’re preoccupied with other things. But that’s not the case with our God. He will always be there when we need him. So how can we reach out to God in our state of loneliness? If you’re going through a hard time at the moment, if you’re feeling alone at work or school or you have moved away from your family, or if you’ve lost somebody who’s close to you, then praying regularly can help remind you that you’re never completely alone, that there is always someone who truly cares about you. Because the Bible says that God promises to be a father to the fatherless. He is with you day after day to the end of the age.
Let’s Pray
Today, Lord, there are so many lonely people, those who have disengaged themselves from their community for whatever reason, those who have a sense of inferiority or feel they’re not good enough. Lord, I pray for them that you will send someone across their path to befriend them. Help me to be open and understanding to those who have lonely feelings. And I ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.