Ahh… It’s that time of year again. The holidays are upon us and with that comes turkey, lights, family, and…loneliness? Perhaps you don’t have family to spend the holidays with, or maybe you do but the time spent with family makes you feel lonely and unseen. The joy of others throughout the holiday season may feel like a stinging reminder of what you do not have. Over the past few years, rates of loneliness have been increasing, and nowhere is this more evident than through the holiday season.
Loneliness is the feeling of having no one to connect with. An empty feeling that there is no one to share your thoughts and emotions with or experience life beside. We all long for someone to connect to and share our lives with. Loneliness can be experienced when surrounded by people, but when there is a lack of meaningful interactions with others. At times you may feel as if no one cares about you, making the loneliness feel all the deeper and more painful. No one is immune from loneliness. We all experience it at some point in our lives. But what do we do when we’re in it?
When we’re captive to our loneliness and the pattern of discouragement that comes with it, we can turn to the many examples that the psalmist David provides for us of how God speaks to us in our pain. David was a man acquainted with great isolation and loneliness. He experienced frequent solitude and abandonment. He also spoke with great honesty before God about what he was afflicted with.
“I cry aloud to the Lord; I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy. I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me. Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge, no one cares for my life. I cry to you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.’” Psalm 142:1-5
Within this scripture we see how David brought his pain before God honestly and without editing his struggle. He described the anguish of his soul at being forgotten and abandoned. This encourages us to bring our pain before God, raw and unedited, knowing that it will be met by the arms of a loving Father who promises never to leave or forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5)
We also see how David clung to the promises of God and claimed God as his refuge and his source of solace. He clung to the many oaths of God that emphatically reassured him that God was not going anywhere, but was standing steady upon his promises. Holding fast to his people. As he clings to us, God stands ready with his responses to our anguished cries.
“For the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” – Psalm 46:1
“God sets the lonely in families.” – Psalm 68:6
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
God has not left us alone in our lives. As you navigate the ups and downs of the holiday season and the loneliness that sometimes comes with it, may you hold to the hope and promises of God. Remember that he sees you, knows you, and claims you as His own. You are never alone with Emmanuel, God with us.
Written by Cara Huber