Faith triumphs over loneliness

After my previous post of doom and gloom I think it's profitable to balance that out with the reminder that our feelings of loneliness are very real yet... bogus according to our faith.  The reaction from all over the internet revealed a resonance with my sentiments that I did not expect.  It is my hope that this post will aid many who feel themselves to be in the middle of a dry and empty wilderness to praise God for the manna and continue to look forward to the promised land.

For starters, and most importantly, even when we "feel" all alone we would do well to remember that we cannot trust our feelings.  We are never alone, I am never alone, you are never alone.  We may not be able to trust our feelings but we can certainly trust the promises of our Lord.  He promises "I will NEVER leave you or forsake you".

Never

Loneliness is a lie.

Building upon that truth, knowing that Christ is always with us, implies that He is everywhere.  Since Christ is everywhere and He is always working, then everywhere we go there are places and ways that He desires us to join Him in His work.  Which brings me to my second point:  wherever we are, there are opportunities for ministry.  For instance, Christ is at work in the hearts and minds of our spouses, our children, our co-workers, our checkout cashiers, our next door neighbors, our relatives, our twitter followers and Facebook friends.  Jesus was at the party we attended last week, he was waiting in line with us for doorbuster deals, he sat around the table with us as we passed the turkey, he sips coffee with us at Starbucks.  Wherever we are, Christ is there and He is working his way to the center of our affections and the affections of those around us.

The possibilities are endless when you think of it.  Now would be a good place to recognize that when Jesus was in a body of flesh there were many around Him that He did not minister to.  This calls for some discernment in the way of prayerfully seeking where God is at work and obediently joining Him in that work without occupying ourselves with work that is outside of His will.  Intimacy with The Lord must precede our movement toward reconciling others to Him.  These truths build on one another.  When our focus is not on doing the work but on joining with Christ who is already working, the power of God will be conveyed in all that we say, everything we touch, and everywhere we go.

So we are in constant need of the reminder that Christ is near and He is active.  Loneliness becomes fellowship when we remember to share our time, resources, and selves with our Lord and our neighbor.  After all, we are never, really, alone.