The Path Out of LonelinessSample

Loneliness is not a stranger to many of us. It is a common shared experience. For some of us, it is a blip in time, and for others it has become an unwanted and yet familiar companion.

So, what is loneliness?

Loneliness is:

“The state of being unseen or unnoticed relationally, mentally, emotionally, physically, or spiritually. It can be driven by a lack of purpose or meaning, relationship, and/or identity, and is marked by a deep sense of hopelessness.”

Loneliness is a product of the original lie in the garden. The serpent (Satan) questioned the relationship with God, and he said this in Genesis 3, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5, MSG)

We know that physical death did not immediately or instantly happen, but relational death and separation from God did, and by proxy, loneliness was created in that moment.

It would be pretty sad if this is the way it stayed. But it didn’t. From that moment in the garden, where loneliness entered, God started to pursue you and I. He pursued our hearts and he hasn’t stopped since. And we can trace God’s faithfulness from that moment all the way to the cross when he conquered death and redeemed that relationship that was lost. He wants to know you. He wants to know you intimately and deeply. He doesn’t want you to settle for loneliness.

Questions for Reflection:

1. What has been your experience with loneliness up until this point? What has been your experience? Write it down. My encouragement for you during these five days is to pull out a journal and to write down your experiences, write down what comes to mind as you walk with me on this journey, on this path. And I want you to also write down what comes to you as you read through the scriptures that are assigned to each day. So, what is your experience with loneliness?
2. How would you rate your Loneliness? From a (1) not being lonely at all to (5) being very lonely.

And my encouragement again, as you write these things down, is I want you to be honest with yourself. The only way that we can begin to walk out of loneliness is if we are vulnerable with ourselves, if we are honest with ourselves, and that can be difficult. Let’s be honest. That can be really difficult, but I encourage you to begin this process. Be honest with yourself. I’m not going to see what you’re going to write down. Many people in your life probably won’t see what you’re going to write down. I will encourage you, as you walk along this process, to invite somebody in to do it with. And that might be scary and I’m not going to have you do that today. We’ll talk about that later in future days.

So, thank you for joining me on this five-day reading plan as we talk about what it looks like to walk out of loneliness.