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.
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