Loneliness

by R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Category: Fingerpost | Nov 1972

It is no respector of persons. The young, the middle-aged, and the aged have all known loneliness as an undesirable companion. Surely there is nothing worse than the waves of deep depression and despair which sweep over one at such times; or the feeling of having been deserted, or of not having a friend in the world. One can know the experience in a crowd, or within the confines of a tiny room. Some know it only occasionally, while others experience the grimness of prolonged loneliness. None of us would seek it intentionally, and it is only those who have felt the trauma that can fully appreciate the indescribable sadness that lonely people have to endure.

But let us remember as Christians that there is a difference between being alone and being lonely. It is a good thing to enjoy the quietness and the peace which comes from God as we seek His help to sort out the confusions, anxieties, and troubles which life brings. In such circumstances we might be alone, but not lonely. The Lord is there with us in the circumstances, and He is fulfilling the promise of His presence. "I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee", is His assurance (Heb. 13:5). Is this something we have forgotten, and so we are overcome by our feelings because we think we are on our own battling things out? Perhaps Gideon thought the same. How depressed and lonely he seemed to be. But what a difference when he realized that the Lord was at hand. The questioning why, where and wherewith (Judges 6:13), were all changed by the Lord's comforting word, "Surely I will be with thee" (v.16). A discouraged Gideon became a mighty man of valour.

Moses, anxious and lonely, after his hasty flight from Egypt, needed to be reassured by the Lord, "Certainly I will be with thee" (Exod. 3:12). This is what he needed before returning to the land of his birth, to lead out triumphantly the Lord's captive people. And what of David, who must have known much loneliness, in his oft flights from the hateful king Saul, and felt himself hunted as a partridge upon the mountains? He has passed on to us the wonderful words of courage, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me" (Psalm 23:4). Before the Lord returned to heaven He said to His disciples, "Lo, I am with you alway" (Matt. 28:20). We are not to feel at any time that we are doing His work on our own, or that our Christian walk is a lonely one, for it is written in connection with the two downcast disciples on the road to Emmaus, "Jesus Himself drew near, and went with them" (Luke 24:15). A 93-year-old Christian once commented to me: "At my age people say that life gets lonely. Not so with me. I know the nearness of His presence in my room, and I can talk to Him". Amen.

R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Nov 1972
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