All Kinds of Lonely
There are several kinds of loneliness. There’s the loneliness of society. Homeless people are everywhere. I once gave a man on Fifth Avenue some money at Christmastime, and I asked him what his main problem was. He said, “I’m so alone.”
Jesus once looked at a paralyzed man who said,
Sir... I have no one to help me. — John 5:7
Thirty-eight years he was alone, until Jesus singled him out. He became that man’s friend that day, and He healed him. He can become your friend.
After Dwight Eisenhower became president of the United States, he was asked what his favorite hymn was, and he responded, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” He knew he needed a friend.
I remember when he invaded Normandy. He stood on the coast of England up on a bluff, and his head was bowed. He sent me a picture of that years later, and he wrote, “I found a friend, and that friend is Jesus.”
Loneliness is found even in the intimacy of marriage. But even in the midst of that love, some feel so alone. A marriage based only on physical attraction or romantic emotions may be doomed to failure right from the start.
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Loneliness is an inner dimension. It’s a thirst for the Spirit for God.
You may not recognize it as a thirst for God, but that’s what it is. The Bible says your mind, your body, your soul, and your spirit — made in the image of God — are thirsty for Him. The roots of loneliness are in each of us.
There is also the loneliness of suffering. Christ gives us hope that suffering is going to come to an end and we’ll exchange the suffering on earth for the glory of Heaven! The apostle Paul said,
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. — Romans 8:18
Revelation 21:4 says,
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
Then there’s the loneliness of sorrow. Jesus wept at the funeral of a friend. He said,
I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die. — John 11:25–26
That’s the hope He gives to those who are suffering in sorrow.
