After being surrounded by a vast crowd of people, Elijah finds himself displaced from home. Hearing death threats on his life, he ran away in fear. He eventually ends up at Mt. Sinai.
He’s alone.
He’d left his servant behind while he wandered through the wilderness alone, for forty days and nights. By the end of his journey, he wasn’t just physically exhausted but he also felt abandoned. God stepped in and talked with Him, reassuring Him that he was not alone.
You’re never alone, though it may appear that way sometimes.
God assured Elijah that there were still another 7,000 God-fearing believers in Israel. Elijah was not the only believer. Though he had never met them, they were out there and God was fully aware of who they all were. On a planet with billions of inhabitants, it is rare to find that you are the only one with your experience, ailment, struggle. There are others, even if you haven’t met them for yourself. We only see one small glimpse of a global picture.
Loneliness is common.
Elijah had just come off a monumental victory for God atop Mt. Carmel. He’d just spent time in deep prayer, as he awaited the promise of rain. Yet, out in the wilderness, God’s leader was struggling with the concept of being alone. Feelings of loneliness aren’t only reserved for a certain type of person. It’s more common than we think and even happens to those we uphold as strong and courageous.
Loneliness can be overwhelming.
The first thing Elijah utters at the start of his wilderness experience was that he wanted to die. Being alone was so overwhelming and oppressive that he was fighting hard to cope. Even after traveling for forty days and nights, he never stopped feeling alone. When he arrived at Mt. Sinai, it was one of the first things he mentioned—after all he’d done to serve God, he was alone. It’s isolating to think that no one else can possibly know and understand just how you feel. It’s frustrating to believe that you’re the only one and can’t confide in another person because they just couldn’t possibly understand.
Jesus knows about loneliness too.
He would awaken early every day and sneak away by Himself to connect with His heavenly Father and recharge His spiritual soul for the day. Being God wrapped up in human flesh, I imagine that there were plenty of moments for misunderstanding and feeling like no one else could possibly understand. As He hung on the cross, dying in our place, His cry was to ask why God had forsaken Him in this horrific moment. What a time to feel alone!
What can we do to in times of loneliness?
We can pray. Christ understands and knows our exact feelings because He has felt them too.
We can share our story. There is power in personal testimony. There is a strength that is passed on like a ripple effect when we share our own experience with someone else.
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{Linked with the Five Minute Friday community.}