A thought by Ed Young, from his book, The Fear Virus: Vaccinating Yourself Against Life's Greatest Phobias (p.77). Creality Publishing. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
It really does!
Ed says, “It is our loneliness that motivates us to become Christ followers. Talk to people who have been followers of the Lord for years and years. They will tell you that they felt lonely—a gnawing sense that something was wrong. They had holes in their hearts that brought them to a place of receiving Christ. Maybe you are there with that same gnawing feeling at the core of your being. You can satisfy your spiritual longings only by establishing a personal relationship God, and it all begins by placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.”
He goes on, “What if you’re a believer? What if you are like me and you know Christ personally, but now and then you still feel a sense of loneliness?... What do we do with those feelings when loneliness rears its ugly head and tries to knock us down? We can either take those feelings of loneliness and let them push us away from God, or we can allow those feelings to push us toward God. We can pray, ‘God, I’m having feelings of loneliness. I know I am not truly alone because I know you. But I’m still feeling the feelings. God, fill the gap in my life. Help me, God, with Your grace, love, and power, to experience You in a deeper way to satisfy these spiritual longings in my heart.’ ”
He then says,“The apostle Paul experienced loneliness. In 2 Timothy 4:16, he declared, ‘At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.’ Have you ever felt that you are the only person standing for Christ at the office? Do you feel like you are the only real Christian around the neighborhood? Or perhaps you may even be standing alone for Christ in your family. You are the only one in your family who made a faith commitment, and sometimes the feelings of loneliness are unbearable. Paul continues in verse 17, ‘But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.’ We must recognize our need for and draw strength from the companionship of Christ.”
And that is especially true, isn’t it, in the time of pandemic that we are going through?
Yes, yes!
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