Hope for Lonely TimesSample

Day 1 - God's Heart

It is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. (Matthew 18:14 NRSV)

Are you feeling lonely today? What do you think is causing that feeling? For many people, loneliness comes when we feel different from the people around us in some way. We experience loneliness when we feel like an outsider, disconnected, or isolated. 

The Bible is full of lonely people. Imagine the loneliness of some of the people in the New Testament. Imagine being the demonized man in Luke 8, possessed by forces that make it impossible to live with other people, or being the leper in Mark 1, with a contagious disease others live in fear of. Imagine being the woman caught in adultery in John 8, fearing for your life from a self-righteous crowd, or imagine Nicodemus in John 3, coming to Jesus in the dark, afraid of what others will think of you. Jesus took the time to compassionately listen to and care about many isolated, lonely people.

Have you ever felt like the single sheep going your own direction while 99 others go a different way? Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep to reassure us that God’s heart is on the side of the one who is isolated and alone. Jesus understands.

In John Calvin’s great hymn “I Greet Thee Who My Sure Redeemer Art,” he sums up God’s character this way: “Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness, / no harshness hast thou and no bitterness.” The heart of God is a heart of love. He cares for the one as much as the 99. As you pray today, thank God for his love, and rest in his presence and care.