Psalm 23:4
What is God saying through your loneliness? Here are 5 things to consider.
- Through Your Loneliness God Is Saying, “I’m Who You Need”
Like the circular ripples that occur after you throw a rock into a glassy calm lake, all the unmet desires in your life can be traced back to one singular act in the past.
Before Adam and Eve sinned, the human heart was totally satisfied through a perfect relationship with God. The longing for something we don’t have can be traced back to their sin. Our perfect union with God was broken, thus we feel lonely.
This is why Jesus came. He didn’t ultimately come to heal our bodies, to give us great marriages, or to bring chaos back to order. He will do these things one way or the other, now or on the new earth. But ultimately, the gospel is about our hearts being restored in Christ so we can have a right relationship with our Heavenly Father once again. Only when we are satisfied in God will we be satisfied at all.
Happiness and belonging do not exist outside of the presence of Jesus. As Psalm 16:2 states, “I have no good apart from you.”
- Through Your Loneliness God Is Saying, “It Won’t Always Be This Way”
While Jesus did come to heal the brokenhearted, Scripture is also clear that while we live on this broken planet, there will always be some unmet longings in our hearts. Because everything is not yet perfected as it will be one day, there will always be some loneliness and discontentment in our souls.
Through the gospel, we do have much redemption and satisfaction. But there is more to come:
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:22-23).
Much of the loneliness we feel now is connected to our longing for the full redemption that is to come (2 Peter 3:9-10). Thus we agree with Revelation 22:20, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”
- Through Your Loneliness God Is Saying, “I Want You to Pursue a Relationship”
Sometimes we look at our feelings as the problem. But oftentimes our feelings are given to us by God to help us see the real problem.
Feelings are symptoms of the real issue. They are the leaves, not the roots. Thus, rather than seeing your feeling of loneliness as the problem, you want to ask God to reveal what he is pointing at through this feeling you have.
Many times God is saying, “I want you to pursue a relationship.” Rather than just trying to push your loneliness away or feeling guilty for not being happy in singleness, as though this means you don’t love God enough, sometimes God wants you to just accept that he gave you the gift of marriage rather than the gift of singleness (1 Corinthians 7:7).
God wasn’t mad at Adam when it became clear that Adam needed a partner (Genesis 2:18). God made Adam that way on purpose (Genesis 1:31).
So if you have a healthy desire for a partner, God is probably telling you to pursue that desire when you are biblically mature and ready to do so (1 Corinthians 7:36).
- Through Your Loneliness God Is Saying, “I Want You to Know How to Love People Who Will Feel the Same Way as You Do Right Now”
One day you will be the married one and then you will see others struggling with loneliness. How will you help them if you don’t know what they are going through? As 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 explains:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
- Through Your Loneliness God Is Saying, “Press In Even More as You Follow Me. Don’t Become Depressed or Passive”
God doesn’t love to see his children in pain and loneliness, but he does love to see us pursue him passionately with all of our hearts. Many times the loneliness is like jet fuel to our walk with God. Without it, we would apathetically love the Lord rather than truly seeking him with all of our hearts.
God has a good plan for you. He probably has a relationship in store for you one day. But either way, the loneliness you feel now can be a gift to you if you use it properly. Don’t waste your loneliness. Use it to motivate you to pursue the Lord with all your heart (Luke 10:27).