Feeling Alone and Disconnected
SHERI ROSE SHEPHERD
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot
produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful
unless you remain in me.” John 15:4 (NLT)
For some reason, I’ve always struggled with inner loneliness.
No matter how many people are around me or how many “likes” I get on Facebook, I fight that deep dark feeling of loneliness.
*struggle with; to try hard to do something that you find very difficult
I
remember the night I became a Christian. I was alone /in a hotel room,
and I was fighting with guilt and shame from my past. To be honest, I
was contemplating taking my life.
* fight with; [intransitive/transitive] to try very hard to prevent something from happening or getting worse
I felt so desperate, I finally
cried out /to what seemed like an invisible God and asked Jesus /to come
into my heart.
In that moment, something happened. I knew God’s presence
and love were real, because for the first time ever,
I didn’t feel
alone.
I thought I would never have to fight feelings of loneliness again. But I was wrong!
I’m
in the hardest season of my life. I lost my marriage, my health and
many friends. However, in the midst of my deepest
heartache, God has
used my tears to heal my broken heart, and in His goodness, He gave me
[what I needed and longed
for most — a CURE for my loneliness and a REAL
relationship with Him!
It was hard to see the Holy Spirit at work
/until I was totally alone and had no one else to run to but God.
It took
me a while to fully surrender to the only One //who will never leave me
or forsake me.
Through my trials and tears, the Lord revealed the
reason () I felt alone … I connected more /to doing the works of God
and to
God’s people than I did to God Himself.
In other words, to cure my
loneliness, I needed time alone with God! I was brokenhearted and that
takes time to heal.
The only way to complete the process is to connect
with Him.
Jesus reminds us of this in today’s key verse: “Remain
in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit
if
it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you
remain in me” (John 15:4).
I don’t want to oversimplify our
connection with the Creator of the universe,
but the vine () Jesus talks
about in John 15:4 is similar to a light switch or a Wi-Fi connection
—
always there, but of no benefit to us until we connect to it.
In
fact, God was there for me all along, lovingly and patiently waiting to
connect my heart, my mind and my spirit
to His heavenly vine through
Christ alone!
I’m not sure what season of life you’re facing.
Maybe it’s a marriage //where you feel alone, or you’re divorced and feel
abandoned by the one () you loved and trusted, or you’re where I am —
fighting cancer — and you feel disconnected
from the life () you once knew.
I
know from personal experience () there’s a cure for loneliness and a real
connection /to a Heavenly Father //who wants
to heal our hurting hearts.
So
here are some hard questions //that may help when you feel disconnected
from God.
Answering these questions honestly will be worth your time,
truth and tears /for an encounter /with true love
and new life /found in
Christ alone.
1. When you’re hurting, where do you run first?
2. When you’re alone, who do you miss the most?
3. What are you connected to /right now //that could be disconnecting you from God?
4. When you need wisdom, where do you find it?
5. Do you feel () your relationship with God is artificial or authentic?
6. Have you prayed and asked God to become real to you and to fill those empty places /meant just for Him?
There’s no better place to connect than to the One //who gave His life /to connect with you
— your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Heavenly
Father, if I’m honest, many times I don’t feel Your presence or Your
peace. You left the Holy Spirit for us
while You’re away preparing us a
place in glory. So be with me.
Fill every lonely place in my heart and
heal every broken piece of me so I can know I’m never alone. In Jesus’
Name, Amen.