Times of Loneliness

I learned fairly quickly that you can still feel very alone even when you are in a room full of people.

Job 6:1-30

Reference:  v.15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow. (TNIV Bible)

Explore:  One of the loneliest times in my life was when I was surrounded by people.   I had just changed job, changed house, changed suburb and changed life direction.  After going through so much change I started to doubt myself and question that I had done the right thing.  So, in an attempt to lift my spirits I thought I would go to the local shopping centre to walk around.  I'm not usually one for retail therapy but getting out of the house seemed like a better idea than just wallowing in it.  As I walked through the shopping centre I noticed everyone else seemed to have a purpose and a direction.  Here I was, surrounded by so many people and yet I was going unnoticed.  They didn't stop to talk to me, they didn't understand what was going on in my life, I was lucky if they gave me enough berth just to walk down the aisles without being bumped into.  I learned fairly quickly that you can still feel very alone even when you are in a room full of people.

Application:  I think most people have experienced a time in their life when they feel like no one really understands what they are going through.  No matter how many people are around you, no one goes through the exact same experience as you do.  While the book of Job can be fairly morbid reading, it's nice to know that other people carry those heavy feelings at times too.  When we are feeling down and we think that no one else understands, we can remind ourselves that others have experienced the same feelings.  Even Job felt that his friends did not understand what he was going through.  They couldn't, they still had their families, their livestock and their health.  But the story of Job shows us that God does not desert us in those times.  While it seems like no one else understands, God is there and sees all that we go through.  We may still feel like no other person understands but we can be assured that God is there.

Prayer:  Lord, it's hard to go through times of loneliness.  Help us to feel your comfort during those times.  Amen.

When have you felt truly lonely?

Job