Have you ever felt lonely even when you are standing among many people...maybe even among friends or family? To be lonely is an internal feeling of being misunderstood or disconnected from others. We can even experience loneliness when surrounded by others in a crowd, at work, or at a family party.
How do you feel when you are physically alone...when you go home to an empty house or are the last person at work? To be alone is a physical thing...to have no one with you...to be by oneself. Do you view it as boring or scary? Do you jump at the chance to go somewhere to avoid "alone time"? The good news is that we are told that we are never alone. In Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV, we are told, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Why do we still feel a sense of loneliness whether it be that we are actually physically alone or we feel alone while in a crowd of people? How can we learn to sense the presence of God under any circumstance? While intellectually, we know God is omnipresent, and His presence is always with us, we long to experience Him. When we talk about experiencing the presence of the Lord, we are talking about perceiving His presence and being conscious of Him at all times. God has promised that as we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us and we will experience His presence in ever increasing measures. We stop confining God to some activities, such as going to church, reading the Bible, and praying, and begin to sense God’s presence in all we do and everywhere we go. What are some ways that we do this when the feeling of loneliness creeps in whether we are actually alone or not?
Simply look to Jesus. Seek Him. Jesus is chosen by God to make the His presence real to you. We all live in His presence all the time, but not many people are aware of it. Acts 17:24-29 MSG tells us, "The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?" God is here for us always, we just have to look for Him intentionally.
Say His name. Scripture says there is power in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:12 NIV says, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." When we say His name out loud...looking to Him as our Lord and Savior to calm our souls, recognizing Him as the One whose presence we long for, we will sense the power of His presence...and His peace will surround us.
Read or say scripture out loud. When we audibly speak God's inspired Word, we will sense its power and His presence. Hebrews 4:12 NIV tell us "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." There is nothing more powerful than the Word of God, so why not employ its power?
Say a whisper prayer. There are times we know we need Him but we just don't know what to say or where to start. He hears our inner most groanings even when we have no words to express them. Start by saying His name and then say whatever comes from your heart. Romans 8: 26-27 says, "Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." Even a simple "Jesus, I need You" or "Jesus, help me" is translated and heard perfectly by the Holy Spirit who speaks to the Father on our behalf.
Be still. Sometimes we can't sense God's presence because there's too much of everything else going on. Too much noise... the TV, the radio, people talking. Too much confusion...too many pressures, to-do lists, even our own thoughts filling our minds can steal our quiet time. Focus your mind on Jesus and start to breathe deeply. In with the good air and out with the bad, distracting thoughts. Breathe in that desire to feel His presence. Exhale all your worries, busyness, and your pre-occupation with self. Psalm 46:10 NIV says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” In the Message translation of the same verse we are told “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” In our world, it is difficult at times to just be still and set all other thoughts and actions aside. However, the practice of this technique could become one of our greatest assets when it comes to really sensing God beside us every minute of every day.
Dear Heavenly Father,
Please fill us. Help us to slow down to decompress. Help us to remove all the clutter from our minds and know that with You, we are never alone. Help us to view alone time as a precious time we can spend with You. Let us remember that even in a loud crowd, You are there. In You, we have all we need. Let us draw near to you to experience your presence, your peace, and your comfort. Remind us that you are in the simple things and that we simply need to call on You. You are always with us. Thank you God for caring about us even through our bouts of selfish-focus and self-pity. Remind us that when we seek You, You are there waiting on us. We love You and thank You for sending Jesus to save us and the Holy Spirit to help us. It is in the strong name of Jesus we pray...Amen.
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