Luke 5:16 ~ But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (NIV)
Some of you may be more familiar with the King James translation of this scripture that says Jesus withdrew into the wilderness. I always just looked at this verse as Jesus taking time to be alone to pray, which we all should do. But the NIV translation of this verse describes it as Jesus withdrawing to lonely places. As someone who has struggled with the spirit of loneliness, it helped me to see how Jesus handled those periods of loneliness during His time on earth. He didn’t turn to veg’ing out in front of the TV or computer; or shopping until He was broke. He didn’t get involved with the wrong people just because He didn’t want to be by Himself. He didn’t turn to drugs or alcohol to mask the pain of loneliness. No, He prayed. He took time to draw closer to God. That is the only true way to overcome loneliness.
We can be surrounded by people day in and day out, but still be lonely in our spirit. That is the ache that only God can fill in your life. When we take the focus off ourselves and turn to God, He will fill your lonely gap. You will begin to crave that time to be alone with the Father because He can lift your spirits like none other. As a matter of fact, He will give you an overflow of joy and love that erases the loneliness. That joy and love will then overflow into the lives of others.
Prayer: Lord, we pray for You to fill our lonely gap. We draw closer to You and seek a more intimate relationship with You, because we know that there is a hole in all of our hearts that only You can fill. Help us to not be distracted by all the things that try to fill the lonely gap that was meant only for You. Amen.
Purpose in Action: Take time this week to reflect on what you may be filling your lonely gap with. Take it to God in prayer and ask Him to fill your gap.
For His Purpose,
LiKeisha
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