“Loneliness is the most terrible poverty” – Mother Teresa
There is not one soul in the universe who hasn’t experienced the pain of being alone or wondered how to cope with loneliness to some degree or another. Loneliness is a condition, from which no individual is exempt. You can be rich or completely broke, young or elderly, being alone can impact your life and cause incredible heartache and pain. World famous performer, singer, and songwriter Michael Jackson knew that all too well throughout the course of much of his life.
“People think they know me, but they don’t. Not really. Actually, I am one of the loneliest people on this earth. I cry sometimes because it hurts. It does. To be honest, I guess you could say that it hurts to be me.” To read more…
Like millions of others around the world, Michael Jackson never learned how to cope with loneliness, due to a lack of trying.
When questioned how they cope with being alone, the following is the way some individuals responded;
“Go to the store for groceries.”
“I make hand puppets and then play act with them.”
“Go for a walk, hiking, shopping, see a concert or go visit the library.”
“Being near people and doing something you’re interested in can reduce the feeling of being lonely.”
“Don’t dwell on loneliness. Find a hobby, see a play, watch television…”
“Just live with it.”
“Get a pet.”
“Do something worth while.”
“Learn to play a musical instrument and shut the world out.”
Is there a pattern here? They may reduce the pain of being alone for a while, but in no time, loneliness will return, most likely more intense than ever. Sadly, “Coping” with being alone is exactly what people think is their only alternative but being alone is not what God intended for us when He put us on this earth.
“Loneliness is the first thing which God saw that was not good.” – John Milton
Wonder why that is? Because we were created for relationships and removed from the context of relationships, man’s existence loses its meaning in life. God wired within our very nature an innate desire to know and be known by others, starting with God. It is our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, that we can fulfill our greatest longing to be known by others and loved for who we are. As soon as we experience that type of love, we are free to love others as we are loved by our Heavenly Father.
A way that God’s love gives us freedom to love others, is it deals with the selfishness within ourselves. Selfishness is one of the greatest obstacles to having authentic relationships. When we desire a relationship based on our own selfishness, that relationship quickly dissolves once we’ve taken all we can and we no longer need what they have to offer. Most likely, you have experienced being on the short end of a relationship with someone like that before and you know how frustrating that can be. Yet, if you were to be truthful, you have been one of those friends once or twice yourself.
I Corinthians 13:4-8 talks about the way God loves us. When we love others the way God loves us, we will never run out of individuals to love. God’s love and loving others is the surest cure for loneliness that exists. You will never have to simply cope with being lonely ever again.
To find out more about pursing an intimate relationship with God and discovering His love that will truly set you free go to Living Life Set Free by clicking on: How To Cope With Loneliness
