December’s Loneliness and God’s Way out of It – Purity 1532
Purity 1532 12/18/2024 Purity 1532 Podcast
Purity 1532 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of cloud formations illuminated by the sun to resemble the Old Testament “pillar of fire” comes to us from yours truly as I captured this amazing sight back on June 12th while on the home stretch of an afternoon walk to my countryside home.
Well, it is Wednesday and with Christmas a week away today, you could say that we are in the home stretch of the holiday season and the year that is 2024, and as much as I am looking forward to my year’s end vacation that begins at quitting time on Friday, I am continually reminded that the most wonderful time of the year can be a time of grief and depression.
Yesterday a single friend posted a meme on social media that stated: “If you’re feeling alone this December, please remember that you are always alone. It just happens to be December now.”
You never know the intentions behind messages on social media, so I don’t know if this was shared as a joke, an encouragement, or a subtle dig at those who are sharing their feelings of loneliness.
The last motivation would be basically insulting or shaming someone for being vulnerable – “Oh you’re feeling lonely? Hello, you’re always alone – get over it!”
If the message is sent with humor – the message would be “Oh you’re feeling lonely? Hello, you’re always alone, silly! It’s just a different month!”
If it’s sent as an encouragement the message would be ““Oh you’re feeling lonely? Hello, you’re always alone, and you are okay during the rest of the year and you’re okay – don’t let the holiday season get you down.”
Obviously, the spirit in which this meme was sent out is up for interpretation but regardless of the intent, the basic message tells us to be self-aware and to recognize the truth of our circumstances, which is good – we need to see the truth and then decide what to do with it.
The mild implication (or am I just interpreting this?) is that it is okay to be alone, right? The message points to the previous months and says “” Well, you were alone then, and weren’t feeling lonely (or maybe not that lonely) and you were okay then (right? You were okay, right?) then it follows that you are okay now (or not). You are just as alone as you were before, so what’s the big deal?
Right, what’s the big deal?
Well, as much as we love to promote individual freedom in our society the truth is that the feelings of loneliness that we experience in December, or any month, may be there to tell us something about our lives and the choices we have made that causes us to be alone. Those lonely feelings in whatever month may be trying to teach us something about our belief that “It’s okay to be alone.”
Very early in the Bible’s narrative, God looked at His creation of man – Adam – and the One who knows all things drew a different conclusion, in Genesis 2:18: God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone.” So, when we try to support and live under the belief that “It’s okay to be alone” we, perhaps unknowingly, are denying the word of God and the struggles with depression and feelings of loneliness are God’s way of urging us on to resolve those feelings.
While God’s word doesn’t say that everyone should be married, it does say to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31), that two are better than one, (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12), and that we should meet with other believers regularly (Hebrews 10:24-25) to encourage one another. God’s word directs us to love one another and that is definitely something, we can’t do alone.
So rather than stiffening our upper lips against the feelings and reality of our loneliness, we should encourage ourselves or those who are feeling lonely to seek the company of other believers – at a church perhaps? – where they can meet their need for community and to have other people in their lives to take away the reality and the feelings of loneliness.
Oh, and for those who “feel alone” even though you have company, let’s get some help – because you are not alone – and you may be the one who is isolating themselves from the people around you by not sharing how you feel and you could very well be brought to those feelings of depression and condemnation by the spiritual forces of darkness by believing lies and having secret sin. To deny God’s truth, leads to sin and feelings of condemnation. God doesn’t want you living that way and so you need to be bold and courageous and seek the company, help, and encouragement of other believers who can point out that you are not alone and are loved.
I used to feel alone a lot! Depression was a real problem in my life. But I put my faith in Jesus, His call to go to church and to learn about Him in a body of believers took my loneliness away. I was surrounded by other believers at church, and I drew close to them in small groups to love and encourage one another, just as the word directs us to, and when I did, I didn’t feel lonely anymore because I wasn’t. When we put out faith in Jesus – we are never alone because God will us or forsake us, and when we are obedient to follow God’s word, He will send us to share His good news and love and to dwell in the company of other believers the rest of our days.
So instead of trying to convince yourself that it’s okay to be alone – agree with God that is not good to be alone and follow His lead to love and serve others and watch as your feelings of loneliness disappear in the community of the saints.
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/.
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
(While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Hope.
Psalm 42:5 (NKJV) Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance.
Today’s verses fall under the sixth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Hope.
6. Put your hope in God.
Today’s Bible verse directs us to take our feelings of depression and to hope in God and to praise Him to deliver us.
When you are feeling low, we need to go to the Most High! When we are feeling down, we need to God to the One who lifts us up – to heavenlies with Jesus!
Derek Prince once testified of a struggle with depression and He affirmed the truth of God’s word that directed Him to put on a garment of praise to take away the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3) because he, like the psalmist discovered the power of praising the Lord and finding our hope in God.
So, draw near to the Lord and let Him lift you up. When we praise the Lord, we proclaim the truth about Him, and we affirm our relationship with Him and can stand in the joy of who we are in Christ.
Lonely or trying times can shake us but when we stand on the enduring truth and hope of the Lord, we can turn our frowns upside down and find God’s help and experience His joy.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 31
Christ Himself suffered in your place, leaving behind a pattern for you to copy so that you might follow in His steps.
1 Peter 2:21
Jesus was the God-man. You cannot do all of the things that He did: heal the sick, walk on water, die for the sins of others. But you can suffer as He did—without returning insults or threats of revenge (v. 23). Indeed, He prayed for the salvation of those who crucified Him. The book of I Peter is all about suffering for the faith. Its essential message is: when suffering, continue to trust and obey. Indeed, if you are suffering for righteousness sake, it might now and then do you good to sing the hymn with that title! In verse 23, we read that Jesus entrusted Himself to the One Who judges righteously. As in Jesus’ trial and death (even though others might not do so) there is always One Who knows and judges—and what He concludes is always correct. While others misjudge you, you can be sure that He will not. And, in the long run, what does it matter if others misjudge; all believers have the assurance that on the day of judgment, He will say “well done.”
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.[1]
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 39.
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