Blessed Loneliness
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10
Fueled by my desperation to escape the land of loneliness, I go astray from my Good Shepherd in my tendency to examine my own “good” works in search of my “virtues”. There are times when I look for evidence of my own worthiness in my behaviour apart from Christ's all-sufficiency. I search for validation and confirmation of my Christian life in what others think and say about me, giving glory to their opinion and leaning heavily on their verdict of my life. When I am weighed in this balance, the result is catastrophic because I am always found wanting and come short of the glory of God. I have come to the conclusion that I cannot live my life by what others opine (think) of me because it leaves me hopeless and discouraged.
In all of this, I see loneliness overtaking my soul. My inability to please God only serves to intensify my loneliness. I feel insignificant in this universe of God's and I ask – what is man, that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? And I understand that, in His loving kindness, God visits us with loneliness. This loneliness is one of the greatest expressions of God's love for us because in it, we discover the depth of the riches we have in Christ. In our loneliness, we find that God has not forgotten us. This loneliness causes us to hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. When God afflicts us with loneliness, He also has compassion on us according to the multitude of His mercies.
Instead of trying to drown out the loud noise of loneliness, if we listen and learn to be quiet, we will find that God is real and that He is our refuge and strength. You and God, alone in the loneliness of your soul. You and your sin, alone with God, this is what He is looking for. You and Jesus, alone, in your loneliness…
…can you hear Him say – neither do I condemn thee?