A FRIEND TO THE LONELY
Deut. 31:6/Eccl. 4:9-12

Bernard Seydel was tired. He was tired of work, and of the constant grind of life. He was tired of living alone. At forty-nine years of age he had no wife, no parents, and no friends.

This particular Thursday Bernard felt more tired than usual. He returned from work, got into his bathtub, and turned on the water. It ran and ran. It continued running, in fact, for several days. When a neighbor finally called the police, the water was still running. Bernard had died all alone in his tub.

Situations like these bring to mind our Lord's words: "It is not good for man to be alone..." (Gen.2:18) NIV

Very few people are alone by choice. There aren't that many who prefer to shut themselves away from people and from life. Loneliness is generally an imposed situation. It isn’t natural.

What can the lonely person do? It begins with making Jesus not only Lord and Savior, but also Friend. On earth, Jesus was acquainted with loneliness. No one was ever more ignored, misunderstood, or abandoned than he was. He knows what it’s like. Start by making friends with the One who left His throne in glory and came to this world to suffer so that we might have an understanding friend.

Jesus promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We are not only secure in His arms, but we are loved and cared for by Him. He wants to be our very best friend. We can cultivate that friendship by speaking with Him all day long, and by listening to His voice as we read His Word.

Next, we should make friends with other Christians who can give us strength through their friendship. The Bible teaches that we should associate with a congregation of believers.

Finally, we can search out those who are lonely and bless them with our warmth, compassion, and friendship. Just as we need someone, there is somebody out there that needs us.

Loneliness is a sickness that the Heavenly Father wants to cure. It is an aberration that He wants to correct, a condition that He can change. After all, it was never God's intention that His creation should suffer loneliness.

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