Loneliness and the January blues!

All photos courtesy of Unsplash.

A while ago, I read the following comment in the ‘The Guardian’ newspaper - ‘The dilemma, I’m 22 years old and going into my fourth year in medical school. I have been using study to escape loneliness, insecurity and anxiety that arose from the stress of the course and my failure to establish friends’.

Another person wrote in ‘The Telegraph’, “‘Life looks good on the surface - so why are we all so lonely?  ‘But you can’t be lonely,’ a friend tells me crossly. ‘You’re out every night.’ The backhanded compliment makes me laugh. But it also makes me sad. On paper, my life sounds glamorous. Denying you feel lonely makes no more sense than denying you feel hunger’” These are the comments of a high profile journalist who looks as if she is living the high life but most certainly doesn’t feel as if she is.

An investigation into loneliness in January 2020 showed that a fifth of the population privately admits they are ‘always or often lonely’. But two-thirds of those people would never confess to having a problem in public. Here is the problem - loneliness is the devastating unseen result of the pressures and emptiness of modern life when people live devoid of real purpose and meaning.

Everybody needs a friend

 

 

Maybe it is not so amazing, but usually, when everything is going well, and the world is your oyster, we have plenty of friends. Many are willing to help as long as you do not need too much! Others are willing to listen if you are not too depressed, but when the chips are down, such friends are often ‘posted missing’. 

 

Three things mark a true friend: a compassionate heart, a strong shoulder and a listening ear. Such friends are scarce, but if you have one, thank God for them; they are like gold dust. Yet even the best of friends have their limits. They can sympathise and are also available, but they have a life of their own, and sometimes, they need the help they so readily give others. Perhaps you are thinking, 'Is there any other kind of friend?' the answer is ‘Yes’. There is one who has a heart full of compassion, and you mean so much to Him. He will never turn you away, and He never tires of listening to your cry. His shoulder is strong; He can carry you when you cannot take another step. He can lift you up when you have fallen, or others have knocked you down. Furthermore, He can change your circumstances or outlook so that things do not seem as bad as they first appeared. Best of all, He will be with you whether you’re ‘on top of the world’ or you feel the ‘world is on top of you’.

Someone may say, 'Why would He be interested, for nobody cares about me?' If that is what you think, then you are wrong, for this friend cared so much that He gave His life for you, and no one loves you quite like Him. His name is Jesus, and He is God’s Son who came into this world to seek and save lost and lonely people.

Standing up for others

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

History records many who stood up for a cause or a people, and in so doing were prepared to face physical suffering, or to be reproached or put to shame.

One day, Jesus arrived in the synagogue, where people used to gather to hear the Bible read, and taught. Amongst the company was a man who had a withered, deformed hand. As Jesus entered, a company of religious folk watched to see whether He would heal this man on the Sabbath day, which they considered to be a breach of the law. They were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, and so bring His work, and His following to an end.

Banishing loneliness!

 

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

One of the most undesirable experiences that we can have is loneliness. Some folks look back to childhood days when they were surrounded by family members. However, eventually, the great enemy, death, gate-crashed the family circle and, one by one, loved ones were taken, and loneliness ensued. Others feel the emptiness that comes with loneliness, especially when their spouse is taken away after many years of marriage. How hard it is, not least in the long winter evenings, to be alone in the house that formerly was alive with conversation.

Lockdown Loneliness

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

I read the following comment in the ‘The Guardian’ newspaper quite a while ago - ‘The dilemma, I’m 22 years old and going into my fourth year in medical school. I have been using study to escape loneliness, insecurity and anxiety that arose from the stress of the course and my failure to establish friends’.

Another person wrote in The Telegraph, “‘Life looks good on the surface - so why are we all so lonely?  ‘But you can’t be lonely,’ a friend tells me crossly. ‘You’re out  every night.’ The backhanded compliment makes me laugh. But it also makes me sad. On paper, my life sounds glamorous. Denying you feel lonely makes no more sense than denying you feel hunger’” These are the comments of a high profile journalist who looks as if she is living the high life but most certainly doesn’t feel as if she is.

Please bear in mind that these statements were made before the COVID crisis hit us - how much more painful will life be for these people now.

One person who cares for you!

This time of the year can be a lonely time for many people! Everyone has their family, or do they? There are a lot of people about who are very private and keep themselves to themselves. They would not trouble anyone with their problems and would not presume that anyone else is interested. 

I have news for anyone who is reading this who thinks like that. I know someone who is interested in you; his name is the Lord Jesus. He is recorded as saying in the Gospel of John - 'I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly'. The Bible also states that God 'is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance'.

The Lord Jesus is personally interested in each one of us. For no other reason than He wants the best for you. If you doubt that then read one of the four Gospels in the New Testament part of the Bible. The record about Jesus says that 'He went about doing good'. For three years for He dispensed the blessing and forgiveness of God to the people He met. He healed them both physically and spiritually. By doing this He was proving that God is interested. That God is caring! That God has time for you! Even His amazing miracles demonstrate that God cares. The one who can heal the body can save the soul!

You can quietly come to Him, by praying to Him, wherever you are. We have all sinned against God and need His forgiveness. When we agree with God that we have disobeyed His commandments and ask for His forgiveness then He will save us.

Why and how you may ask?

Why - because we are in danger. God is just and must judge wrong. Your sin has consequences because breaking God's law is damaging. Just as fire burns so sin hurts and has ongoing consequences. This is why we need God to intervene.

God can save us from future punishment in Hell because His Son, Jesus died on the cross for our sins. The Bible says 'Christ died for the ungodly'. He died for you, and I, and can forgive us because He took the punishment for sin. The fact that Jesus is sinless and perfect means that He qualified to pay the price on our behalf.

When you believe you will receive salvation - why not believe today. It works - He saved me and has been with me for fifty years now.

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well

To access podcasts and videos explaining the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ visit www.seekthetruth.org.uk

This site will give you access to Bible Teaching Audio's and Video's as well

Thrilling Thursday

My wife returned home today! It was wonderful. I was so glad to see her. The house was quite dead without her. You'd think she'd been away for months; it was only three nights but it seemed longer. The stange thing is that I'm usually the one who spends time away from home when I am away preaching in other places. 

When you are used to being with someone you really miss them when they are not about. It's not just what they say it's just that you miss their presence as well. 

Jesus disciples felt like that when he told them he was going to leave them and go back to heaven. Little did they know, at that stage, that his route would be via death on a cross plus returning to life three days later. And to crown it all a month and ten days later they would see him rise from the Mount of Olives (just outside Jerusalem) and ascend back to heaven from where he had come thirty three years earlier. 

They would miss him but they learned quickly that His comimg to Earth had been worthwhile. We need to ask the question - what did his life on Earth and his death on the cross achieve? Jesus explained it by saying that he had come that we 'might have life,' John 10:10. Paul one of the early preachers said that 'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,' 1 Timothy 1:15. All in all the statement 'Christ died for our sins' seems to sum it up.

When you miss a loved one just remember God up gave up His Son so that we could have forgiveness and eternal life. It was a big sacrifice but worth it for every soul who trusts him.