The Bright Side of Loneliness

The Bright Side of Loneliness

Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 1:19-28

She said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad. (1 Sam. 1:18 NASB)

How many of you have ever experienced loneliness? If every experience of loneliness were written down in a book, we’d have volumes upon volumes.

      When I was a teenager, my father died suddenly from a coronary thrombosis. He was forty-nine years old, and the breadwinner of the family. Even today, some sixty-five years later, I can still recall the unearthly scream of my mother on that fateful morning. The feeling of loneliness, emptiness, and despair are still vivid memories. We were a religious family (my father and mother were active in the Masonic Lodge), but the name Christian could not be hung over our door. It took ten years before the bright side of loneliness made its appearance in my life, and that happened as a result of coming into a relationship with Jesus Christ through faith in his death, burial, and resurrection.

     There were a number of Bible characters who suffered from loneliness, but in the end got to see the bright side of loneliness.

     Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, experienced the depths of loneliness. She wanted a child in the worst way, but the Lord had closed her womb. In the midst of her loneliness Hannah made a vow; “O LORD Almighty, if you will look down upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you…” (1 Sam. 1:11a NLT) The bright side of her loneliness was God’s answer to her prayer. She had a son and dedicated him to the Lord.

     Sarah, Abraham’s wife, experienced the pain and grief of loneliness. She was barren and had no children. All that she had to cling unto was the promise that Abraham would have a son who would be his heir. They waited and waited but nothing happened. She became so distraught that she tried to usurp God’s promise through her handmaid, Hagar, but that too failed. God declared that Ishmael would not be the son of promise. The bright side of her loneliness was God’s keeping his promise. The Bible says, “And Sarah declared, “God has brought me laughter! All who hear about this will laugh with me. For who would have dreamt that I would ever have a baby? Yet I have given Abraham a son in his old age!” (Gen. 21:6-7 NLT)

     Perhaps you are experiencing a period of loneliness. It is quite normal to waste valuable time having a pity party, but God wants you to see the bright side of loneliness. How are you going to deal with your loneliness? Remember the promises of God and lay claim to them.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help each of us to lay hold of the bright side of loneliness through your word.