How many times have you sat in a room full of people yet because of the content of the conversation, you felt completely alone? The feeling of loneliness is not unique to a sad few, it's a human condition, affecting relationships all around the world. Loneliness has such a disruptive effect that it has repercussions for our health, negatively affecting our bodies on a cellular level.
King David, the warrior, the man who was dear to God’s heart, was not exempt from loneliness. As if in a journal, David wrote the psalms with his real, raw feelings. In Psalm 22, we read his discouraged thoughts in a season of loneliness. He thought himself unworthy. David’s very identity was at stake - all of his triumphs were cast in the shadow of his lonely thoughts.
How often have we been in this very position, losing the sense of who we are? Yet through David words, we can find strength. It’s who he wrote his words to that counts-to God. David, despite feeling empty, isolated and unwanted, gave over his grievances to God, the only one who can provide the perfect answer to our feelings of emptiness. The Lord is our rescue, never leaving us alone when we are down and out.
The perfect company, position, or surroundings can’t fill us up, but God can. So like David, let us never forget where we could draw on strength to get us out of loneliness. Rather than putting on a façade and further isolating ourselves, let’s give the turmoil that’s happening on the inside to God, so we can be transformed from the inside out.