You don’t have to walk this life alone

 

Are you alone today? Do you feel alone physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually? Loneliness is something that affects each and every one of us at some time or another during our lives.

Sometimes it may not be physical. You may be surrounded by family and friends and yet feel alone. Maybe those around you do not share your passions or your interests and you feel like you’re the only one excited about something you feel is important. You can’t seem to connect with anyone else on an emotional level.

Or maybe you feel spiritually alone. Maybe your spouse is an unbeliever. Or maybe you feel alone in your church! There can be such spiritual apathy in some Christian circles, that if you’re walking close to the Lord and have a fervency about you, you find it difficult to find and connect with another believer who is searching the scriptures and excited about what God’s Word has to say. It’s sad, but it happens. And it may very well be you that is the one who is apathetic and comfortable in their half-hearted Christian walk.

Sometimes we long to have someone to share our deepest thoughts with, our hopes and dreams. If you’re married, I trust and pray that you are able to do this with your spouse. But there are times when this is not possible simply because of physical distance or a difficult day at work and one or the other feeling completely drained and incapable of communicating on a deeper level. Or maybe you’re single and don’t have a good support group of fellow Christians that you can call on at a moments notice to meet a need you have.

Whatever the case may be, I’m here to tell you that there is someone that can meet every one of your needs. Emotional. Physical. Spiritual. EVERY one of them! And that person is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yes, he is the only one that can meet ALL of your needs. It’s not right to expect your spouse or family or friends to meet all of your needs. They don’t need that kind of pressure from you, and you don’t need that kind of pressure from them.

There was a time, not so many years ago, that I felt frustrated and discouraged that my husband wasn’t meeting all my needs. I felt let down and hurt. Why couldn’t he communicate like I needed? Why couldn’t he say the words I so desperately needed to hear? Why couldn’t he be physically there the minute I snapped my fingers?

But God changed my heart and repentance came. He led me through his Word to see that God and only God was the one who could meet all of my needs. And that any time I felt alone, I could run to him, and he would always be there. He would always be present. 

Hebrews 13:5b ….for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

People will always let you down, but our Heavenly Father NEVER will!

Can I share with you some other verses that will be a comfort to your soul?

The Lord Jesus does so much for us and has given us so much, he is perfect, he knows all things and he knows you inside and out.

He comforts me when I’m hurting

2 Corinthians 1:3 KJV - Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

He understands me and knows my deepest thoughts

Psalm 139:2 KJV - Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

He is always there, even if I try to run from him

Psalm 139:7-10 KJV - Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

He thinks good thoughts of me

Psalm 139:17 KJV - How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

He freely gives me all things

Romans 8:32 KJV - He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

He has a future planned out for me

 

Jeremiah 29:11 KJV - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

These verses are such a comfort and yet, they are only some of the ways God is able to meet my emotional, spiritual and physical needs. There are so many more.

The next time you feel alone, can I encourage you to tell God about it first? Often, we run to our best friend, or put it up on social media, or complain to our spouse. But the first person we should be telling is God. I need to bring it to him in prayer. I need to pour my heart out to him.

There is a beautiful verse in Psalm 62.

Psalm 62:8 KJV - Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

This verse tells us to POUR out our heart to God. Pour it out. All of it. Not just a little. Not half-hearted. Not accidentally. No. Willingly pour it out. We are to trust him, and we know we can, as he is completely trustworthy, and then we are to pour our heart out to him.

Psalm 62:6-7 KJV - He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

He is my salvation. My rock. My fortress. He is the need-meeter, for want of a better word. He is perfectly able to meet all of my needs.

Sometimes as I wait for my husband to come home after a long day of work, I am full of eagerness to ‘pour out my heart’ to him, longing to share with him what is on my heart and mind, only to find myself frustrated because he is weary, hungry and ready to relax and not ready for deep communication. I have no idea of the pressures he’s been under that day and so I can’t predict how he’ll react or how my sharing will come across. Will it sound demanding, or critical, or complaining?

Now, I could go on a rabbit trail on the subject of communication in marriage because it’s a very important topic for me and one I’m very passionate about, but I just want to say one thing. How about pouring your heart out to the Lord first, before anyone else? And then asking the Lord for discernment in what you should say, and how much you should say and when you should say it.

We put so much pressure on those we love, expecting them to meet all of our needs and yet God is there, waiting with open arms, for you to come to him. Come to him in your brokenness. Come to him in humbleness. Come to him with your tears, your fears, your heartache. He is waiting for you.

Do you trust God enough to pour your heart out to him right now?

The Lord Jesus is a protective refuge where you can pour out your heart, without fear of being misunderstood, misinterpreted or pushed aside. We never have to fear that he will turn a deaf ear to us or be too tired, distracted or drained.

Psalm 121:3-4 KJV - He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

He knows our hearts and understands our needs and he is aware of our desires and wants. He sees all the hurt and the pain. And he can heal all our wounds.

Psalm 34:18 KJV - The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

What a comfort it is to know that we never have to be alone.

Learning to bring to God all our needs, requires us to deepen our intimacy with him and learn of him. It means getting to know God better, learning how to communicate with him. It has to go beyond a surface level of bringing our requests to him in a haphazard fashion. We have to have a desire to thirst after God as the Psalmist did.

Psalm 42:1-2 KJV As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

When we take the expectation of emotional fulfilment off our spouse, family and friends, we free them up to become better communicators as they know that we are no longer clingy, longing for attention, unstable and moody, but that we have spent time with the Lord first and the pressure is off them to meet every need we have.

If you’re alone today, don’t waste this season. Don’t waste your alone time. Use it to deepen your relationship with God. And use it to invest in others. There is always someone else who is feeling alone and in need of a friend and an encouraging word. Let it be you who steps up to the plate, even though you’re hurting. Helping others really does lift your spirits.

If you’re struggling with loneliness right now, don’t forget who to run to. Run to the rock. Run straight into the open arms of Jesus and let him fill you up.

 

Tell God first

Trust God fully

Let God meet your needs.