Phone: (08) 98 418 418
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Phone: (08) 98 418 418 |
| Avoiding the traps of Loneliness |
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Loneliness…it must be the most desolate word in human language. It plays no favourites;
ignores all rules of courtesy; extends no mercy. It comes uninvited…and stays…and
stays…and stays.
Friend, there is no agony more painful than the consuming anguish of loneliness. The inmate in prison can tell you that, or the young serviceman guarding a checkpoint in Iraq or Afghanistan. Or the person who has just buried a companion or loved one and goes to bed early surrounded by the mute memory of "what might have been." Loneliness is a clever enemy who shows no partiality. It attacks the worker who after faithful years of production, is seldom recognized for anything-except when he's absent. It strikes out at the CEO who has to be tough, has to keep things going through the many long hours of sacrifice. His phone rings constantly and there is an endless flow of traffic through his office. But he's lonely. It strikes the spiritual leader who spends his energy in church work. As one leader said, "I want to eat with them, laugh with them, and be one of them. Instead, we pass each other on Sunday and Wednesday, we speak-I do my act, some show appreciation while others complain." "It's terribly lonely at the top." To the unemployed loneliness says, "No chance!" To the divorced it says, "No place!" To the bereaved it says, "No hope!" To the struggling it says, "No way!" And sometimes it even sneaks into the hospital and says to the sick person, "You've been forgotten. No one cares about you-not really." It's also true that periods of loneliness are not uncommon for those who believe in God. In fact, the Scriptures provide a Who's Who roster of the lonely. It includes such greats as David, Jeremiah, Job, John the Baptist, and Moses. We could also imagine that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was terribly lonely as she awaited the birth of Jesus - and people whispered about her condition. Paul Tournier tells the story of a Swiss woman who lived in a large apartment house and worked in a shop with many people. Every evening she tuned in to the "Sign Off" of her local radio station just to hear a voice say, "We wish you a very pleasant good night." She imagined that voice speaking to just her. She hungered for a personal greeting, even though she was surrounded by hundreds of voices each day. Friend, are you lonely? If your answer to that question is yes, then I want you to know that Jesus understands how you feel. Because that is exactly the way he felt as he hung on the cross and cried out, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" In fact, in the strangling grip of the cross Jesus experienced the maximum impact of loneliness. So he is able to sympathize with you and go into the battle with you when you have to fight the giant of Loneliness. He doesn't need you to explain-he already knows and he cares. He only needs an invitation to share the wound and help the healing. More than anything else, when you are lonely you need an understanding friend. Jesus is the one-perhaps the only one-who can really understand. Therefore, if you would like to experience the joy of having a real friend who will help you to combat loneliness and who can make every burden bearable, I invite you to write to me for a FREE booklet titled "Need a Friend?" I'll also send you "THE LONELINESS PLAN" which provides eight suggestions that will help you to avoid the three traps of loneliness. To receive your copies of what I am offering, simply send your request to A Better Life, P.O. Box 1540, Albany WA 6331. If you prefer, you can Telephone your request on (08) 98 418418. Email: abl-alb@omninet.net.au |
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