I’m tempted to start this post out with, “Sometimes, as women, we feel lonely”. While that probably is a true statement, I think it’s time to make these overgeneralizations a little more personal. So, I’ll say that sometimes, I feel lonely. I think loneliness is a really weird thing, because it seems that everyone experiences it at some point, maybe even fairly regularly- but despite the fact that we all deal with it, the issue itself is feeling alone. You’d think we’d start to figure out how to deal with this, how to eliminate it- we try the quick-fix of our choosing, be it a substance, a crash diet, an unhealthy relationship, chocolate, or withdrawing completely. We could even add our Christian twist to it- find the right prayer to pray, the right hymn to sing, or the best Bible verse to memorize. But, try as I may, the feeling of loneliness still manages to creep back into my heart.
I think the Lord created us for fellowship. We were not meant to walk the Christian life alone, and I don’t want that idea to come across. That said, I think He sometimes allows us to walk by ourselves for a period of time. Maybe while walking through a desert. Perhaps when crossing a valley on the way to the next mountain. Wherever, whenever, and however it all works, God allows these feelings of loneliness to exist; while He could remove them instantly, He often times does not.
This whole thing is just plain frustrating at times. From my feeble human mind, it doesn’t seem to make sense. Sometimes I just don’t understand why despite cries for relief, He leaves us in the desert, seemingly alone.
“Then He said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’ Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’ Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?’ he asked Peter.” [Matthew 26:38-40]
The Savior of the world came to earth. He chose twelve disciples. Of these, he chose the three with whom he was closest to go with him to the garden of Gethsemane. And yet, when he went to pray to his Father, they couldn’t even stay awake. Jesus, the creator of the earth and every person on it, was left alone.
Not long after this, he was separated from his Father- with whom he was one. He experienced a type of loneliness that we can’t even begin to fathom. And while our loneliness is usually not our chosen state, Christ chose to go to the cross- because of his pursuit for me and for you.
The value of something is determined by what someone will pay for it.
Jesus paid for our souls with his own being.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” [Hebrews 4:15-16]
This Easter, whether you are walking through the desert, the fire, the valley, or on a mountaintop, recognize his pursuit of you. His pursuit that took him- willingly- to the cross, so that he could be here with you in your moments of joy and of heartbreak.
