DEALING WITH LONELY TRIALS : “The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them.” (2 Timothy 4:16 NLT) The Bible gives us some guidelines for what we should do when we are going through a season of loneliness. They are illustrated in the life of Paul in 2 Timothy 4, when he was in prison and awaiting his execution. Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:16, “The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them” (NLT). Paul, the greatest Christian next to Jesus, was on trial in Rome, and not one person stepped forward to defend him. Not one! He was absolutely by himself. Nobody stepped forward to say, This is a good guy. Hes alright.” Yet Paul did not say, Those jerks — after all Ive done for them all these years!” Instead, he said, May it not be counted against them.” In other words, he was not going to let himself become bitter. Because bitterness always makes loneliness worse. When you feel lonely, you need to minimize your hurt. You need to play it down and pray it up. Dont rehearse it over and over in your mind. If you do, it just gets bigger and bigger and out of control. Refuse to become resentful, because bitterness will eat you up. Bitterness and loneliness go together because they become a cycle. You become lonely. Then you start feeling bad about it and have a pity party. Then you become bitter. Your bitterness makes you even lonelier, which makes you more bitter. Soon, youre a hardhearted, depressed person that nobody can get close to. Nobody wants to be around a bitter person. Nobody wants to be around a cynic. Nobody wants to be around a person who is angry. Your bitterness will only perpetuate your loneliness. Thats why, when you go through a season of loneliness, you have to minimize the hurt. Dont build a wall around your life. I believe personally that you can Utilize Your Time of Loneliness to both move forward, or actually help others to be raised. See how the Apostle handled such season. Be sure to bring the coat I left with Carpus at Troas. Also bring my books, and especially my papers.” (2 Timothy 4:13 NLT) Make the best of a bad situation. Resist the temptation to do nothing. Take some action — any kind of action. Try to think of creative ways to take advantage of the seasons in which you are alone. Paul wrote to Timothy from prison and told him. In a season of loneliness, you need to be comfortable and productive. Even though he was lonely, Paul didn’t throw a pity party. He didn’t complain or give up. What does he do? He makes the best of the situation. He utilizes his time. He says two things: “Bring my coat.” Those Roman prisons were damp, dark, and cold. He did the best he could to take care of himself. It is true of human nature that when we are lonely and depressed, we dont take very good care of ourselves — physically or any other way. We don’t exercise. We dont rest well. We dont eat right. Paul did the best he could to take care of himself. Some of you need to hear this today, because youre not taking very good care of yourself because youre lonely. “Bring my books.” Paul was a people person. He didn’t like to be alone; it wasnt the way God wired him. Being in solitary confinement in a Roman prison was the antithesis of where he wanted to be. Yet he did the best he could. He wrote letters that today are compiled in a book we call the New Testament. The only way God could slow him down was to put him in solitary confinement. Two thousand years later, we are still benefiting from Pauls loneliness. Is anybody going to benefit from your loneliness? INTIMATE ONE DAILY DEVOTIONAL 5TH NOVEMBER,2013.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 04:32:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015