Fighting Loneliness: Created for Community & Meaningful CompanionshipSample

Loneliness & Jesus

If ever there was a human who had the right to feel lonely, it was Jesus. There was no one in the history of mankind, nor would there ever be anyone like Him — fully God and fully man. Imagine for a moment the depths to which He could have felt loneliness. Even the disciples who were with Him often missed the meaning of what He was trying to communicate. And yet, how do we see Jesus deal with this? Apart from the final moments of Jesus's crucifixion (Matthew 27:46), I don’t recall a passage that communicates Him verbalizing that He felt lonely. But, in Jesus' life and the Word, we see a model of how we can combat loneliness and prevent it.

1. Communion with God.

Multiple times we see that Jesus would initiate solitude to be with His Father. He prioritized vulnerability with God, and we must follow this pattern.

“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place, and there He prayed.” - Mark 1:35 NKJV.

“Therefore, when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.” - John 6:15 NKJV.

“And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” - Matthew 14:23 NKJV.

2. Community with others.

Jesus had three disciples in his inner circle, and he was vulnerable enough to share his sorrow and request spiritual support from them. We should emulate Jesus.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” - Matthew 26:36-38 NKJV

As believers, we are commanded to bear one another’s burdens. To be a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on, or an advocate in prayer for one another.

- “Carry one another’s burdens and in this way, you will fulfill the requirements of the law of Christ [that is, the law of Christian love]” - Galatians 6:2 AMP.

3. Fellowship exemplified by the early church.

The early church modeled the picture of unity in Christ, both in the physical and spiritual sense. There are examples of gathering together to pray as a group, meeting with other believers in larger settings, experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit, and spending time learning from the apostles, in fellowship, and sharing in meals.

See Acts 1:13-14, 2:1, 2:42-47

Reflect:

What keeps you from really connecting with people?

Define what a healthy, connected relationship looks like for you.