Alone

 

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV).

 

Today’s devotional is not about being “alone.” It is about “feeling alone.” You can feel alone in any circumstance, at any age, even when you are surrounded by people, even when you are in a relationship, or when you have many friends and acquaintances. This loneliness is the soul feeling isolated from meaningful human connections, feeling misunderstood, out of place, and disconnected. Interestingly, the Bible doesn’t say anything directly about loneliness. However, this doesn’t mean that we can’t use Scripture to help us deal with these feelings. Our reading today is merely one example of many. I hope it will prove to be an encouragement and comfort to you.

 

I think the principle the Apostle Paul uses is in realizing a vision for the heavenly things.

Don’t fill your loneliness with empty and meaningless things that play on your soul and intensify your isolation. Even things that are not necessarily evil can actually harm you by the reactions they cause in you. When we understand and focus on the end of things, our heavenly fulfillment of God’s redemptive work, we are not nearly so affected by the things of our present circumstance, good or bad.

 

This is simply that settled feeling we get from the knowledge that the time we spend on this earth, in these frail bodies is temporary. God will see us through the journey, and in the end will deliver us to an eternity to be with Him and all those who have gone before us. Paul recognizes the continual deterioration of “these bodies” (v. 16). If you have lived any time at all in this life, you surely are well acquainted with that truth. Over the past few years, with more difficulty arising physically, I continue to come to the conclusion that getting older is not for the faint of heart. It takes determination and courage to get old!

 

But, we are not ever alone in our infirmities, or aging. We don’t need to “lose heart” (v. 16). Jesus is with us and will not leave us. Rather, He will be the first face we see when we have breathed our last earthly breath. Behind Him will be a host of others greeting us in our return to the intended home God has prepared for us eternally. That is the cure for feeling alone!