Combat Loneliness | Emotions
EMOTIONS
Combat Loneliness…
LONELINESS DEFINED:
Psalm 25:16-17 (ESV) 16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.
Loneliness: (APA, American Psychological Association) the affective and cognitive discomfort or uneasiness from being or perceiving oneself to be alone or otherwise solitary.
Loneliness: the mental or emotional discomfort you may experience from either being alone or feeling as though you are alone.
Feelings are indicators not dictators. Lysa TerKeurst
Feelings are great servants but terrible masters. Kris Valloton
“Nearly 3 in 5 U.S. adults are lonely.”
Psalm 34:18 (NLT) 18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
2 Timothy 4:16 (ESV) 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. May it not be charged against them!
Matthew 27:46 (ESV) 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
- You have needs in your life and no one to meet them.
- You have hurts to share and no one to listen to them.
- You have love to give and no one to receive it.
Genesis 1:1 (ESV) 1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 2:18 (ESV) 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
SOUL TATTOO: We’re better together.
Genesis 2:22-23 (ESV) 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”
Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV) 26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
- God didn’t create us because He was lonely.
- God created us because He is love.
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
- The first-century believers desperately needed each other, and they knew it.
- Believers today desperately need each other, and they have forgotten it.
SOUL TATTOO: We’re better together.
LONELINESS DEFEATED:
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV) 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- A gathering of grace.
Philippians 1:7 (TPT) …”You have a permanent place in my heart! You have remained partners with me in the wonderful grace of God”…
- A gathering of healing.
James 5:16 (ESV) 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
- A gathering of mission.
Acts 2:46-47 (ESV) 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Serve one another. Galatians 5:13
Show hospitality to one another. 1 Peter 4:9
Be kind to one another. Ephesians 4:32
Encourage one another. 1 Thessalonians 4:18
Carry one another’s burdens. Galatians 6:2
SOUL TATTOO: We’re better together.
LONELINESS DISCOVERED:
Three basic things in life:
1. We want to be loved.
2. We want to be understood.
3. We want to be needed.
- I need people who will care for me.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NLT) 9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
Romans 12:15 (NIV) Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
1 Corinthians 12:26 (NIV) If one part suffers, every part suffers with it…
- I need people who will encourage me.
John 14:1 (TLV) Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me.
Hebrews 3:13 (NIV) But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.
- I need people who will partner with me.
Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NIV) 9Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
- I need people who will protect me.
John 16:1 (ESV) 1I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NLT) 12A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
If you find yourself LONELY:
- You have a friend in Jesus.
John 15:15 (ESV) 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
- Find your family.
Psalm 68:6a (NIV) 6 God sets the lonely in families…
- Reach out.
SOUL TATTOO: We’re better together.