January 21 – Alone, not lonely

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV)

At some time in our lives, I'm sure each of us has experienced the pain of loneliness, the ache and feeling of isolation that comes with the dawning realisation that we are alone. For some this happens when they first leave the family home and go off to university in a strange town. For others it will be the breakdown of a relationship, or death of a spouse. They dread the days ahead as they look into an empty, bleak future. But did the Lord not say, 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand' – Isaiah 41:10. There is no place we can go where God’s love isn’t. we’ll never be separated from God’s love.

Nothing — no circumstance, no situation — can separate us, because God’s love is everywhere: “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:39 NIV).

This is our antidote for loneliness: we will never be separated from God’s love. The fact is we do lose loved ones. If you’re married, one of you is going to die first. And you will grieve over that.

But as Christians, we may be alone, but we’ll never be lonely, because we can tune into God’s love. I’m not talking about religion; I’m talking about a relationship with Jesus Christ. His love lasts forever, and his love is everywhere.  He identifies with our feelings.  After all, He experienced a depth of feelings of loneliness and abandonment by His Father than we will ever know as He went through Gethsemane then hung on the cross.

We are reassured that we are never left alone - "Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence? If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there. If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me. I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you” (Psalm 139:7-12 TEV).

The music choice for today is the New Hinson's singing “God in Heaven Knows.”