What to do with loneliness

[ from Passion and Purity ]

Be still and know that He is God -
Use the stillness to quiet your heart before God. Get to know Him. If He is God, He is still in charge.



Remember that you are not alone -
"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Never mind if you cannot feel His presence. He is there, never for one moment forgetting you.

Give thanks -
"For our light and momentary troubles are outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen."<2 Corinthians 4:17-18> This is something to thank God for. This is loneliness itself, which seems a weight, will be far outweighed by glory.

Refuse self-pity -
Refuse it absolutely. It is a deadly thing with power to destroy you. Turn your thoughts to Christ who has already carried your griefs and sorrows.

Accept your loneliness -
It is one stage, and only one stage, on a journey that brings you to God. It will not always last.

Offer up your loneliness to God -
as the little boy offered to Jesus his five loaves and two fishes. God can transform it for the good of others.

Do something for somebody else -
Pray that you may be a instrument of God's peace, that where there is loneliness you may bring joy.

Taken in a spirit of trust, even loneliness contributes to the maturing of character, even the endurance of separation and silence and that hardest thing of all, uncertainty, can build in us a steady hope.