What do I do with my loneliness?
Some causes & effects
- Life circumstances- immigration, transition, bereavement, ageing, sickness and marriage breakdown, unwanted singleness etc.
- Personal issues: Poor social skills, communication issues, social anxiety, intense introversion, fear and low self-esteem, fear of intimacy and self-protective behaviours.
- Spiritual issues: Alienation from God- unbelief and sin.
“Thou has formed us for himself & our hearts are restless to they find rest in thee.” – Augustine
Effects- Substance abuse, depression, sexual immorality.
Loneliness in the Bible
- “It’s not for the man to be alone.” Gen 2:18
- Elijah, Jeremiah & Job.
- Jesus: Family & Community, Gethsemane, Calvary, Despised & Rejected (Isaiah 53:3), the great sympathizer (Hebrews 4:15) alienated from the Father (Matthew 27:46.)
