Loneliness

Deuteronomy 31:8  The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.

Most people struggle with loneliness at some point or another.   We can be surround by family, friends, coworkers, and feel no one sees us or understands us.  But there is a special (different?) kind of loneliness to being single.   Who is there to pay the bills but you?  Who do you talk to at the end of a long day?  Who do you go on trips with?  Who do you eat dinner with regularly?  Who takes care of you when you are sick and vice versa?  Who do you make the big life decisions with?  And on and on and on.

And that loneliness is real.  You can work to overcome it.  Personally, I have done this through family and friends.  I intentionally invest in my family and friends and their kids.  I can almost always find a family to eat with if I want to on a given night.  I have several friends I talk to after a long day.   I have friends and family who I talk to about the big decisions and about worries.  These people who I have chosen to do life with support me and I them.   My intentional investment in family and friends is good and right and brings great joy. And there is a temptation to make them where I find completeness instead of in God.

But at the end of the day, in the dark of night, loneliness is still there.   The worries and fears and sorrow can overwhelm.  But it is in these dark night hours, in the churning emotions, that God is most present.  Only in Him is there true joy and wholeness.  In Him, there is no loneliness but a sense of security and unspeakable completeness.