How You Can Overcome Loneliness with God

Inside: Do you feel lonely? We might feel alone and yet be surrounded by others. Knowing that God is always with us can comfort us and help overcome loneliness.

*Disclosure: Post may contain affiliate links. See our full disclosure here.

Today we are welcoming Sue to Unmasking the Mess. Sue blogs over at Mama of Three Boys and she encourages women who are busy to seek God first. I don’t know about you, but seeking God first allows me to overcome life in a better mood and ability instead of being overtaken by the stress of life. Her site is filled with great topics about the Christian life.  I hope you enjoy her post on loneliness.

Loneliness. A word many people do not like to confront.

1) Maybe you are a stay at home mom, who once had a successful professional career, and now you only talk to your kids each day and not your peers. You feel alone.

2) Maybe you’ve been married for many years, and you started losing the companionship you once had with your husband. All you two say is a good morning, goodnight, and what’s for dinner? You feel alone.

3) Maybe your children have left the home, and you are an empty nester, waiting for the holidays to arrive so you can see them again. You feel alone.

4) Maybe you’ve become a widow, earlier than expected, and you don’t know how to pass your time without your spouse. You feel alone.

5) Maybe you are a single woman, anticipating a young man to cross your path at the bus stop one day. You feel alone.

6) Maybe you are a college student, trying to figure out where you belong on your campus community. You feel alone.

I know many women experiencing one or more of the above. They have plenty of reasons to feel alone.

There have been many times in my life too which I have felt alone. You may be in the same boat as me if you live in the Christian community. You attend church every Sunday, you go to bible studies during the week, you go to seminars and Bible conferences and you arrive with a big smile on your face. You have no trouble socializing, you are there saying hi and bye to everyone, but you still feel alone.

How do we react to the feelings of loneliness?

This is a topic I have been discussing with my closest friends. People do not like to talk about it, and in the Christian community, women just place a veil over the word. To avoid the subject we live lavishly, we surround ourselves with friends, we have lots of kids, we have a year’s worth of errands to do in a day, we schedule and plan out each minute. But our hearts still feel lonely.

Or some women decided to retreat from all activities, functions, and even church, believing “no one will even notice I wasn’t there.”

The devil has a great part to play in this lonely feeling. He wants us to feel incomplete, and not satisfied with the friendships we have, with the children we care for, with the husband we made vows to. He wants to distract our hearts to fill it with worldly things other than God’s word. He wants us to feel not understood, not worthy, not fulfilled.

I want you to remember you are not alone.. Christ promises us in Mathew 28:20 “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Let that promise always resound within you.

Take a look at Deuteronomy 31:8 in the NLT and ESV translations:

I can experience Gods nearness through these simple statements:

He will personally go ahead of me.

He will be with me.

He will not fail me.

He will not abandon me.

He will not leave me.

He will not forsake me.

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” (NLT)

It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”(ESV)

And do not forget what Psalms 23 verse 4 taught us when we were younger;

Even when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me. (NLT)

For You are with me. (ESV)

You walk by my side. (the MSG)
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.

And to the widows and orphans Psalm 68:2 says: Father to the fatherless, defender of widows–this is God, whose dwelling is holy. (NLT)

I pray God’s word assures you that in your loneliest moments, you are NOT alone. For each and every situation you are in, have the hope, that God is NEAR!

Take time each day to draw close to Him. Do not substitute the things of this world to make you feel complete. Remember He is with you always, even to the end of the age.

Here is a beautiful song by Tauren Wells to remind you to choose to say I am not alone!

Sue Chacko is a wife of 10 years, a mom of three, and has her doctorate degree in pharmacy.  She writes for Mama of Three Boys in her spare time. She loves to encourage Christian women, wives, and moms to find joy, and strength in marriage, motherhood, and everyday life by seeking God first.

Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and LonelyFinding God in My LonelinessChristian Disciplines: Building Strong Character through Divine Guidance, Suffering, Peril, Prayer, Loneliness, and PatienceLoneliness: It Can Be A Wilderness. It Can Be A Pathway To God.Uninvited Study Guide: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely

If you missed these other great Sunshine & Scripture posts:

Want to Know 7 Psalms that are Powerful Anxiety Cures?

Want to Recover from Trauma: Watch for These 3 Lies