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One is the loneliest number ☝️
One is the loneliest number you’ll ever do. My mom is 99 years old and lives in a phenomenal care center. We’re so grateful to have found this place. The attendants often comment on my sister’s commitment to be with our mom daily. Others are not so fortunate. They are alone.
Do you have family and friends who are alone? Are you alone most of the time?
From early on, God decided that “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18, NIV)
Ecclesiastes tells us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NIV) Although we all need to develop alone times with God, it is important we build strong connections with people.
Why do so many people feel alone? Here are some possibilities:
- Fear of rejection is the most common. Reject fear, and take a chance!
- Self-centeredness is a crippling condition that will surely damage any chance of intimacy. It’s not about you; it’s about the other person and God.
- Neediness is like kryptonite to relationships. Determine in your heart and mind that you will add value to others and that you are healthy, full, healed and whole.
Do you suffer from any of these conditions? Do you know people at work like this? An old song by Three Dog Night speaks of the loneliest number:
“One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do
Two can be as bad as one
It's the loneliest number since the number one”
I’ve seen many people suffer from loneliness. I always encourage them to become dispensers. Fill yourself every day with the Spirit of God, and pour out to everyone you meet. The author Tommy Barnett teaches everyone a second technique: find a need, and fill it.
Hurting people are everywhere. Go love them, go volunteer at a feeding program, visit nursing homes, mentor an inner-city kid, teach Sunday school or coach a little league team. If you spend the rest of your life being full and pouring out, you will become salt and light. If you find a need and fill it, God can use you to help save lives.
Because you’re a miracle.
Paul Marc Goulet
Scripture
About this Plan
Loneliness is a scary condition. Most people don’t want to be lonely. Have you ever been alone in the forest? Alone at night in the forest? Do you feel alone? In this reading plan, writer Paul Marc Goulet shares about this topic and how you can deal with it.
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