Has Illness Saddled You With Loneliness?

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

Occasionally when you are in a store or supermarket you will hear over the loudspeaker that a child has been lost and is looking for his or her mother. I can remember being that child when very young and how helpless and alone I felt.

Loneliness is one of the worst feelings in the world. It drives individuals to go to great lengths and sometimes great expense to find a significant other to end the loneliness in their lives. Loneliness can leave us fearful, sad, and even depressed.

Affliction brings its own sort of loneliness. For more than two decades I have suffered a variety of illnesses and afflictions. And I know that suffering from illnesses can leave you feeling very alone even when in a crowded room. Though loved ones have sympathized and sought to comfort me over the years, there is no way they could fully understand what I was going through and that can leave one feeling isolated and alone in suffering.

There is one Person who has understood and has comforted me throughout all my various illnesses and afflictions and that is Jesus. He is the One I could always turn to and count on, and pour out my pain and frustrations to at any time or place in my life. Jesus is the cure for loneliness.

Suffering can leave you feeling very lonely. And while it can help to have others around you, no one truly understands the depth of what you are experiencing except God. Call upon Him, invite Him into the midst of your pain and suffering, lean upon Him for help and support, and you will find yourself feeling much less lonely.

Prayer: Dear Lord, only You know the depths of our suffering and how lonely we feel in these afflictions. We invite You into our lives, into our suffering, and ask for Your comfort and peace. Amen.

Karlton Douglas

Copyright 2017