Soldier On

When was the last time that you felt alone? I don’t mean “I spent Friday night at home alone”. I mean when was the last time that you felt completely and utterly alone. Abandoned. Separated. Detached. Isolated. Discarded. Forgotten. Empty. Rejected. Outcast. That is what I mean by alone. Maybe you have never felt that way before. I know that I have. And I would venture to guess that most people have felt this type of aloneness to some degree at some point in their life. If not, then you can just listen for a little.

Here’s the deal, if you haven’t felt that way then you’re kidding yourself. Even Jesus had his moments. “My God, My God, WHY have YOU forsaken me?” We’ve all been to the bottom. We’ve all felt abandoned and alone. All people need to love, be loved, and feel significant. Every single person needs all 3 of those things. Without those 3 things, you are going to feel alone, broken, and isolated.

So, if you are feeling broken and alone…which of these are you missing?

Do you not feel significant? If you are struggling with feeling significant then maybe it is because you aren’t. Tough words? Of course. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself. Whether or not you feel significant has nothing to do with anyone but you. If you don’t feel significant, it is most likely your fault. INVEST yourself in something! INVEST yourself in someone! My guess is that if you don’t feel significant it is most likely because you haven’t invested yourself in anything that is worth being invested in.

Are you not loving anyone? Again, this is a problem, since there are over 1100 verses in the bible about loving the poor and needy. That’s just the poor and needy! What about everyone else!? Again, my guess is that most of you don’t REALLY love that many people. Think about how many people who you care more about than yourself. Most likely a depressing thought. Learn to love. Read scriptures about love.

Do you not feel loved? This is the hardest one for most people. If you aren’t blessed enough to have a family that loves you, then you most likely have friends that love you. If you don’t have either, then you MUST know that GOD DOES. Pslam 27:10 says, “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.” (NLT) The Lord loves everyone in a way that no one can understand. His type of love is beyond comprehension. If you don’t believe me, read the Psalms. By the way, if you’re reading this and you don’t feel loved, then I haven’t done my job. Neither has anyone in any of the youth groups or churches that you guys are from. Hopefully that is not the case.

My point is that if you feel alone, abandoned, separated, detached, isolated, discarded, forgotten, empty, rejected or outcast, the blame most likely falls on you. So pick yourself up out of the depths of despair and soldier on.