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You Are Not Alone!
Psalm 23:4, Matthew 27:46
In January of this year, the Pew Research Center released the results of a new study they did on various social aspects of society. And one of the results that really stood out was to do with loneliness. Loneliness has rapidly increased in our society in recent years, and the results were very alarming for all categories, age categories, but particularly for the younger generation. In the 18 to 29 year-old group, 24% of them indicated on the survey that they were lonely all of the time, or most of the time. 24%. That’s a quarter of people in that group are extremely lonely. And the results weren’t much better for the other age categories either.
It seems like loneliness has become a major challenge for us nowadays, and perhaps this is something that our congregations should consider when they’re thinking about outreach and how to serve the community. Now, if you are experiencing loneliness, I have some comforting thoughts for you to consider. First of all, God loves you and he is with you. David said in Psalm 23 verse four,
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4 EHV)
God is with you even in those horrible dark days when you’re going through the darkness of loneliness. He does not abandon you, but he is your companion. Another thing to consider is that God tells his believers that they should gather together in their local areas and love one another as brothers and sisters, like a family serving one another and gathering around his word. And so I would encourage you, if you don’t have a congregation, a family of believers that you belong to, to find one, and I would recommend one of our Evangelical Lutheran Synod congregations.
Now, these congregations, the people there are not necessarily perfect. In fact, they gather together because they are in fact sinners. And they need that forgiveness that they get through Christ and the word, his word. And here is perhaps the most comforting aspect of all of this. Jesus loves you so much that he was willing to experience the most terrible Loneliness so that you could be saved. When Jesus was on the cross at one point. He said,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
At that moment, we recognized that the Father had forsaken his son. Jesus there was suffering the worst pains of hell with your shame and my shame, our sins. But he did it, and he endured it so that we could be saved. And God the Father was satisfied with that sacrifice of Jesus. And that’s why he raised him up on that first Easter Sunday.
God loves you. He forgives you, and he wants you to gather with your fellow believers as a family. You are not alone. Amen.
