The word is going around that we’re in the middle of an epidemic in America.
According to a recent study performed by the Brain Dynamics Laboratory at the University of Chicago, loneliness is running rampant. One in three people are dealing with loneliness and one in 12 are apparently severely affected.
In 2017, the U.S. Surgeon General warned that loneliness has reached “epidemic proportions” in our country. I suspect this is a universal problem that we can at least partially blame on our isolation from much needed face-to-face contact in this electronic environment in which we live.
It’s quite easy to get caught up in this dilemma these days as we can do just about anything over our computers and other electronic devices. If we wish, we don’t even have to go out for groceries, household goods or meals, with everything coming to our front door with a simple text or tweet.
We may be saving our gas and reducing our carbon footprint, but others are adding to it. We may be saving time doing these chores, but we may also be engaging much more with our electronic gadgets in play and entertainment.
Such activities are not healthy, in my mind. Leaving loneliness behind can be a simple fix for most of us. We must get up off our behinds, get out of our comfort zone and start meeting others face-to-face once again.
Frankly, I’ve always enjoyed people contact and know that living like a hermit would not work for me at all. The more people involvement the better for this guy.
After all, God created us in His own image and I know that He desires to be close to His creation and wants us to interact with others.
If you don’t have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe, there’s probably a void in your heart, mind and soul. I say probably because something else may be masking the void that I’m certain exists.
In Genesis 2:18 we read, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”
We’re told in Genesis 5:1, “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God.”
That means God wants our fellowship and just like God we need the fellowship of others.
We don’t just need contact with other people. We need intimacy with others as we go through our life journey. We need to draw close to God and close to others. We need deep personal relationships — not shallow impersonal acquaintances. We need to be around those whom we can confide and trust as we do with our Heavenly Father.
If you cannot relate, you may well be one of those caught in the trap of loneliness. And, I’ve got some good news for you.
God has provided a way out of your loneliness, but you have to take the initiative to allow Him and others to come into your life. In Revelation 3:20 we’re told, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
That’s an open invitation, folks. God wants all to be saved and to have a fullness of life that only comes from allowing the Holy Spirit to come into your very soul.
He is quite aware of all you are going through in this world. He patiently waits for you to simply knock so He can enter into your life. If you are lonely and feel something is missing in your earthly existence, please consider asking your Savior to come in and become Lord of your life this day forward!
Passages to Ponder
— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at jim@fourthquarterstrateies.com for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.