THE GIANT OF LONELINESS (5)
Scripture: Psalms 25:16
This content is part of a series.
Title: The Giant of Loneliness (5)
Series: Grappling With Giants
Author: Donald Cantrell
Text: Psalms 25:16
Psa 25:16 KJV - Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I [am] desolate and afflicted.
"Grappling With Giants" Sermon Series - Sermon 5
I - The Cruel Clutches of Loneliness
II - The Crippling Causes of Loneliness
III - The Crucial Cures of Loneliness
This sermon contains a fully alliterated outline, with subpoints.
Lone People
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
The Beatles, "Eleanor Rigby"
A few years ago, when I was the attending emergency physician working in the emergency department, the senior medical resident asked permission to discharge an older man. The resident was convinced the patient was a malingerer, having been seen multiple times in the last week at the medical clinic with "shortness of breath."
The patient had multiple tests, scans, and more - all normal - and yet here he was again, in the emergency department complaining of continued difficulty breathing. "Wait," I said. "There must be a reason that he keeps coming back. Let me take a look at him with you."
We entered the room, and saw an old man, shrunken in the corner with no animation in his face. He looked forlorn, so I asked, "Are you sad?" He burst into tears and told me that his partner of more than 20 years had died a week ago; he was devastated.
His real condition? Not shortness of breath, not crying wolf to get attention, and certainly not a malingerer. What he had was pure and simple: loneliness.
The medical resident was stunned. As he admitted to me later, he learned a powerful lesson that day: that the pain of loss can be as profound as not breathing. And sometimes the symptom comes not from the body, but is a cry from the soul.
Back to my patient. He was classically lonely, having lost his dearest friend of 20 years. We had to allow him to share his grief ...
Series: Grappling With Giants
Author: Donald Cantrell
Text: Psalms 25:16
Psa 25:16 KJV - Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I [am] desolate and afflicted.
"Grappling With Giants" Sermon Series - Sermon 5
I - The Cruel Clutches of Loneliness
II - The Crippling Causes of Loneliness
III - The Crucial Cures of Loneliness
This sermon contains a fully alliterated outline, with subpoints.
Lone People
All the lonely people, where do they all come from?
All the lonely people, where do they all belong?
The Beatles, "Eleanor Rigby"
A few years ago, when I was the attending emergency physician working in the emergency department, the senior medical resident asked permission to discharge an older man. The resident was convinced the patient was a malingerer, having been seen multiple times in the last week at the medical clinic with "shortness of breath."
The patient had multiple tests, scans, and more - all normal - and yet here he was again, in the emergency department complaining of continued difficulty breathing. "Wait," I said. "There must be a reason that he keeps coming back. Let me take a look at him with you."
We entered the room, and saw an old man, shrunken in the corner with no animation in his face. He looked forlorn, so I asked, "Are you sad?" He burst into tears and told me that his partner of more than 20 years had died a week ago; he was devastated.
His real condition? Not shortness of breath, not crying wolf to get attention, and certainly not a malingerer. What he had was pure and simple: loneliness.
The medical resident was stunned. As he admitted to me later, he learned a powerful lesson that day: that the pain of loss can be as profound as not breathing. And sometimes the symptom comes not from the body, but is a cry from the soul.
Back to my patient. He was classically lonely, having lost his dearest friend of 20 years. We had to allow him to share his grief ...
There are 20321 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
