Hope for Lonely TimesSample

Day 3 - What Are We Lonely For?

By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. (Psalm 137:1 ESV)

Writer and pastor Frederick Buechner says, “To be lonely is to be aware of an emptiness which it takes more than people to fill” (Whistling in the Dark, p. 83). He is pointing toward our inner longings and subconscious yearnings that often go unspoken and unfulfilled. Buechner says the object of yearning is our true home, and in many of his books he evokes the images of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz representing this desire to return home.

For the people of Israel in Babylonian exile, this yearning is captured through the sorrowful, poetic language of Psalm 137. To sit and weep remembering a place to which you cannot or will not return is a powerful image. Many have had the experience of simply sitting and weeping without being able to articulate why. Sometimes this sort of longing is a sign of emotional trouble. But it also can be a sign of a theological truth.

Buechner suggests that maybe all of us are lonely for Zion, our true home, the place we will be perfectly loved, accepted, and completely known. Loneliness is a complicated emotion, and Buechner’s idea that we are lonely for our true home with God sheds light on this complexity. Some aspects of our internal restlessness won’t be solved in this lifetime, and until then we have to do what the exiles struggled with: singing the Lord’s song in a strange land. As you pray today, thank God for being your true home, and reflect on that promise. 

We hope this plan encouraged you. For more great devotionals , explore other resources from Words of Hope.