When You Feel Alone | The Deep End

Hi, I'm Kelly. Welcome to The Deep End. So loneliness, what do we do when those feelings of loneliness hit? I've got a little bit of experience in that. I've been a widow for about eight years, and over that time, I learned some things that I want to share with you as an encouragement. First of all, Hebrews 13.5 is the place I run to when feelings of loneliness hit. And the promise that's captured there is, never will I leave you and never will I forsake you. And that's Jesus making a covenant promise to us, right? And so one of the things that I like to lean into is to remember who said that. This isn't advice from a friend. This is my creator, your creator, my God, your God. And it's a promise that I can lean into. It's not subject to circumstance. It's an eternal truth that I can tap into. Also, Psalm 139.7 says, where can I go, Lord? Where can I go? Where can I hide from your presence? And it's, again, that feeling that God is always with us. So even if you feel empty and lonely, even if you feel empty and lonely, even in a place where you may be surrounded by people, being able to access the truth of that promise is one of the best tips to put into place when those feelings of loneliness hit. Also, inviting God into our brokenheartedness, not keeping him at bay. Psalm 34.18 says that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. And sometimes when we, and that's a promise as well, and sometimes when we feel lonely, what's really could be happening is if God is so close to us. And so just remembering the truth that he is close to us in our brokenheartedness. He doesn't leave us alone in it.

He's waiting oftentimes for us to open the door and let him in and share our emotions, share our feelings. That's what he wants us to do in relationship to cry out to him. Another thing that I like to lean into, probably this is my favorite, is to think about David and I call it doing it like David. David was a murderer, king, an adulterer, a man after God's own heart. That's how God described him. And so when I think about the way he lived his life, always seeking God, he was very lonely. He was the black sheep of his family. He was put out into the pasture to tend to the sheep. And we know from his later writings that he had intense and beautiful times with God out there. God strengthened him, gave him supernatural strength to tackle and kill bears with his bare hands. And so when I, those feelings of loneliness hit, I like to think, well, how would he encourage his inner self? And I like to worship. David was a worshiper. And so just remembering the promise, he's the author of the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. We all know that verse, but he was in a place of desperation and loneliness in the times of his life when he was on the run, when all of his people deserted him, when he committed sins that he thought were so overwhelming. He never, ever turned his back on God. He leaned back into him. And so we can, we can invite God into our loneliness. We can do it like David and worship and recall all the things that God's done for us and his goodness. And again, that promise in Hebrews that says, never will I leave you and never will I forsake

you. Thanks for watching The Deep End. I'm Chuck Mingo, one of the pastors at Crossroads, and we would love to come alongside you. If you have a prayer request or you want to reach out to Crossroads, you can do that at prisons at crossroads.net. You can also find that information on our page on the Pando app. And we would love to come alongside of you if you're looking for re-entry support. You can email reentry at the47.org and we would love to come alongside you in that way. Let me pray for you. God, thank you for the purpose. person who is watching right now, I thank you that you know them, you see them, and you are for them and we are for them at Crossroads and I pray God that they would sense that, I pray for joy, I pray for peace, and I pray that they would be able to walk in your power in a unique and fresh way, in Jesus name, amen.