God’s Cure for the Lonesome Blues

While training for the foreign mission field, we consciously asked experienced missionary friends what we could expect. On the top of the list was loneliness. So for two years prior to leaving for our country, we prayed for grace to get through the times of loneliness. Christine prayed fervently because the separation from children and grandchildren seemed overwhelming to her.

We just returned from the states. We learned valuable lessons while visiting churches, friends and family. In this busy world, it is easy to allow ourselves to feel alone and isolated, especially in societies that are becoming more and more individualistic. People don’t go to the back fence to chat any more, they use the back fence to keep their distance from one another. When walking down the street people don’t look you in the eye with a smile and exchange pleasant greetings. They are preoccupied with the world, or have their ears plugged with their MP3 players. While standing in the check out line at a store, there are imaginary walls separating us from each other and we dare not say anything to each other, especially about Jesus lest we offend someone. When families sacrifice some time to come together, there seems to be tension in the air, each one squirming inside to get back to their own separate lives.

Christine remembers being with her Grandpa who never met a stranger. It seems every person he passed or came in contact with he would smile and begin telling little jokes or stories. Christine had heard these over and over again, but she never tired of hearing them, though some would be embarrassed or aggravated that he was ‘doing it again.’ But Christine remembers the different reactions of the different people. Little children would be delighted, older people would begin listening with impatience but gradually relax and enjoy the conversation, short as it was. Yes, it was short, but by the end of the encounter with Grandpa, every one of them, had the privilege of hearing the gospel and encountering Jesus Christ, the hope of glory.

Grandpa was in love with Jesus. He wanted everyone to have the opportunity to know Him and become part of His family. The terms friends and family are relative. The friends and family of the world are few. But we have a vast supply of those who are connected spiritually. We are the family of God. We are those who are in love with Jesus. Together we are strong, a force to be reckoned with in the heavenlies. We are never alone or forsaken because we have each other, but more importantly, we have Christ in us. He is the hope of glory.

John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

God has been faithful to keep us saturated with His presence and love while serving Him here in our new home. Our family extends beyond the borders of our beloved home in the north. Daily our family grows and the love of God exudes from every fiber of social marrow.

Loneliness? We have faced glimpses of loneliness and more will likely come. But we already have victory over those times of feeling isolated. We picture Abraham after leaving his home and family, his comfort and security. He is sitting on the hill with a seemingly imposing world surrounding him in the darkness. As he looks up into the night sky and counts the stars he remembers the promise of God. His descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Though he did not see the fruit of this promise during his lifetime on the earth, he clung to the hope of the promise fulfilled. So it is with the body of Christ. If we continue to respond to the perfect will of God, our descendants will be as numerous as the stars. The confidence comes from knowing him, Christ in us, our hope of glory.