Refuge for the Loneliness of Youth (7 of 29)
Series: Christ Our Refuge
John Barnett
One of the amazing paradoxes of our times is that we have come to the place in human history when people are totally alone—yet surrounded by crowds. Life in the 21st century is very lonely for many people.
Though there are more humans than ever before alive and around us—many find less fellowship, companionship, and fulfillment each year. We move past, around and by, more and more people each day—but know fewer and fewer.
We often move faster—but not closer. We often have more contact—but less touch. We have more and more relationships—but less and less depth. And all of this leads to that aching hollow of the soul known as loneliness.
Loneliness is when God takes something or someone out of my life—so He can be closest to me. This means that loneliness is a tool in God's hand, an opportunity for a right response by us His children. Don’t let loneliness abuse you, use it to draw close to the Lord!
Open with me to Genesis 2. God has something to say about loneliness—it isn’t good! From the pages of Genesis 2 before the Fall, God speaks His very first recorded words to man. Amazingly, in God’s first words to man He addresses loneliness.
• Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
God solved that problem with Eve, and Adam was no longer alone. But soon after, sin arrived as Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Then came the sting of the most dreadful form of loneliness—alienation from God.
Because we are all fallen in Adam, we now experience loneliness in all of its many forms; none of them are good. Loneliness appears at times as that sense of emptiness, like we have a vacuum inside of us. Other times it is a feeling of desolation or of unsatisfied longings. Probably the most acute form of loneliness is when we lose someone close to us through disagreement, distance or death.
Loss of ...
Series: Christ Our Refuge
John Barnett
One of the amazing paradoxes of our times is that we have come to the place in human history when people are totally alone—yet surrounded by crowds. Life in the 21st century is very lonely for many people.
Though there are more humans than ever before alive and around us—many find less fellowship, companionship, and fulfillment each year. We move past, around and by, more and more people each day—but know fewer and fewer.
We often move faster—but not closer. We often have more contact—but less touch. We have more and more relationships—but less and less depth. And all of this leads to that aching hollow of the soul known as loneliness.
Loneliness is when God takes something or someone out of my life—so He can be closest to me. This means that loneliness is a tool in God's hand, an opportunity for a right response by us His children. Don’t let loneliness abuse you, use it to draw close to the Lord!
Open with me to Genesis 2. God has something to say about loneliness—it isn’t good! From the pages of Genesis 2 before the Fall, God speaks His very first recorded words to man. Amazingly, in God’s first words to man He addresses loneliness.
• Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
God solved that problem with Eve, and Adam was no longer alone. But soon after, sin arrived as Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Then came the sting of the most dreadful form of loneliness—alienation from God.
Because we are all fallen in Adam, we now experience loneliness in all of its many forms; none of them are good. Loneliness appears at times as that sense of emptiness, like we have a vacuum inside of us. Other times it is a feeling of desolation or of unsatisfied longings. Probably the most acute form of loneliness is when we lose someone close to us through disagreement, distance or death.
Loss of ...
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