November 5, Loneliness

Today’s reading: Psalms 21-25

“Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted” - Psalm 25:16.

It is not a problem for many to be alone, but when they feel lonely, it can be a debilitating, depressing state of affairs. The interesting thing is that you can feel lonely even when you are in the midst of people, and this can stem from a variety of reasons. Friends and family are the antidote to loneliness, but you cannot have these relationships only for what you can get, but rather for what you can give, if you serious about overcoming loneliness. Proverbs 18:24 gives some advice for how to obtain friends: “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (NKJV). This indicates that you cannot sit back and demand that life give you friends; you must be friendly to attract those friends. Then you must be loyal to your friends in times of their trouble. Both scenarios require you to give, rather than moan or complain when others don’t “give” whatever it is that you feel you need. Are you battling a sense of loneliness? What can you do to proactively break out of this predicament? Whose pain can you help carry while in the midst of your own pain? Whose friend can you be today?