Loneliness

Comfort and Joy

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

In the church my dad attended years ago they loved singing:

The Comforter has come, the Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from Heav’n, the Father’s promise giv’n;
Oh, spread the tidings ’round, wherever man is found—
The Comforter has come!    Frank Bottome 1890

God is near to comfort. But if we look to friends, activities or work in order to quiet the chorus of grief and loss we feel we will miss out on a living relationship with Him.  Maybe the past is clouding your vision of the path just ahead. Hurt, pain and the empty chair across the table are shouting out, while God whispers in His still small voice. Jesus promised to send us Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit to come and sit by our side. In His presence are quiet waters to drink from that heal and restore our souls. Once we drink from His stream we can go on with a cup of comfort to share with anyone in need along our way. Then we will know with Paul that the greatest joy is found, not by searching for it, but by asking, “Who can I comfort today?”

 

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Remember Me

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19 ESV

As I was growing up we moved so many times that I lost count. Every new place I hoped that this would be the one where I belonged. But as the years passed I learned that fitting in meant being a part of the memory of a community to which I could never belong.

But as a 19 year old I found my way home and discovered that in Jesus Christ I belonged. He remembered me even though I had forgotten Him. So now as a 60 something when it seems I don’t fit into the hopes and plans of others it is a great comfort to know He still remembers. Now I must learn to always remember Him!

Learning to be Alone

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

Oh how I have always hated being alone! I sometimes got in trouble as a kid just so I could be included with everybody else who got caught. But in my Christian walk I have discovered something strange… Sometimes God wants me to be alone. He takes people out of my life. He cancels opportunities for me to be seen. He allows me to be too weak to do want I hoped and planned to do. In fact there are days when God chooses for me to be forgotten abandoned and rejected by other people. Yes it is no one else. It is Him. But in those long and lonely days he is waiting in those dry places for me to find my rest in Him! How very unlike me is our faithful loving God!