Are You Lonesome Tonight?
As we move into short days and long nights, it becomes easier to feel discouraged. If we are increasingly secluded (by weather and, this year, by governmental edict), we can experience genuine loneliness. I enjoy being alone, but I have a choice in the matter; others do not. Solitude occurs when we want to be alone; loneliness happens when friends and family are taken from us. Solitude soothes, whereas loneliness looms. Because God knows all about us, His Word speaks to us about the painful subject of loneliness. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Psalm 107 starts out on a euphoric note: “O give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.” Quickly, though, the Psalmist is reminded of the sadness of loneliness. Verses 4-5 say, “They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.” We can relate to this dramatic shift in emotion from the apex to the abyss. There are several points that I want to make regarding this passage. Today, however, I will limit myself to one: our redemption through faith in Jesus Christ is not altered by our present condition. If we are experiencing loneliness, our Savior has not loosened His loving embrace. Several older Christians, all living alone because of the death of a spouse, have told me that often they would talk aloud to God, saying things like, “I guess it’s just You and me, Lord” and “Thank You, Jesus, for being here with me.” I find this kind of faith to be bracing and invigorating; it is a literal fulfillment of the comforting command of verse 2: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so.” We have been “redeemed from the hand of the enemy” of our sin; certainly, then, we can also be delivered from the enemy that is loneliness.