Do you ever feel lonely? Have you ever been surrounded by a crowd of people or with a group of friends and still somehow felt so utterly alone? There is a disconnectedness from everyone that is so overwhelming it can seem unbearable at times. It can often feel like no one is on your side, God most of all. Yet we are told over and over that God is always present. He is always by our side. Why then, do we so often feel so lonely. I must admit that I, myself have struggled with this for a long time until I had a recent breakthrough. It is important for us to ask ourselves if we are being open to God and others. It seems like a simple concept. We are the body. We are
each individually made to fit into a certain part of the body. One person may be like the "heart" while another may be like "mouth" in accordance to our spiritual gifts. However, how can the mouth speak love if it is not connected to the heart? God has recently revealed this to me in that I have been very caught up in being open to Him, but not open to other people. If I am not open to others then how will they know God more? This does not mean that you should step out into the spotlight and give a sermon, although it can entail that. It means that you are open to other people in your life. You listen to them and speak when God tells you to speak. It means that you are willing to step out into the spotlight, have a simple conversation with someone God has put in your path, or even pray for someone with dedication. It is a commitment to the people around you that they can come to you and you will not try to hide, run away, or even shoo them away like a pesky fly. Some of you are probably thinking of contradictions such as "I'm just not that outgoing", but I am not saying that you have to go talk to the first stranger you come across after reading this. What I am saying is that you are open to that possibility. You are available to people. Your heart is not locked safely away in a chest and buried in a secret cave with hidden traps. You may also say, "That's impossible!" Why is this so impossible though? It is because we live in a broken world. This broken world cuts us. To be open and available to people is to be vulnerable. We often find ourselves hurt by the people we care most about. Our love for others is what opens us up to pain. How many times have you heard a song on the radio at the store or in the car that was about an awful break up? It can seem impossible to overcome these pains of the world. We may even wonder if love is worth all the trouble. Do not be so discouraged! By faith in Christ, we have hope. It may seem cliche, but it is true. Although we struggle with sin every day of our lives and every day are often sinned against, we can have a sense of peace that God is with us every step of the way. You may say, "That is all fine and dandy, but how do we live that way?" One step at a time. We are all children of God. Yet we sometimes forget that we start out as infants and must grow in Christ. We cannot expect ourselves to suddenly be able to live openly to people. My process in this area certainly has seemed slow. My time here at college has increased the speed immensely, but I still sometimes feel those old thoughts, habits, and feelings creeping in and trying to take
control again. It is a daily battle. In a world full of on demand things, we sometimes forget that we cannot go so fast in all things, especially with the constant presence of sin. A good place to start is to pray for healing for the wounds of your past and ask God to reveal himself to you everyday. Another thing that I have found helpful is to reject any thoughts that are not good and ask God to help you with this. Every time you think that you see temptation or think of something that tempts you, rebuke it in Jesus's name. Finally, whenever the lies of the enemy enter your mind, it is good to not only rebuke them, but to speak scripture aloud that contradicts that lie. When you are feeling alone, take comfort that you are not the only one that feels that way. We all struggle to some degree with loneliness in some way or another. It is important to remember that we are one body. We are a unit in Christ. We are never truly alone.