None of us are immune to the burdens and pains of this life. Though we have a God who loves us, we all experience loss, hardship, and disappointment. And in the midst of it all, it might feel as though we’re all alone, with no one to understand us, no one to guide us, no one to let us know they’ve been there too.
Sometimes, in those seasons of life that ache beyond words, we just want to hear that it’s okay to not feel okay. We want to know we’re not alone in this chasm of loneliness we stand in. We want to be held by arms that bear the scars of similar wounds.
In our most vulnerable moments, we need more than pithy statements that attempt to assure us that all will be well. Instead, we need one another’s stories. Stories create a space for us to be — to be known, to be validated in our feelings and experiences, and to give us words to express what we might not have been able to say before.
We can find ourselves and God again in one another’s stories, opening the door to let hope come through once more.
We won’t be able to understand why hard things happen in this world or in our lives, and that is okay. We can sit in the tension of that reality together. And not only do our suffering and pain connect us together in our humanity, but they also connect us to Christ, who bore it all on the cross. He held the tension between heaven’s holiness and the world’s brokenness, and though we all long for resurrection, we have a God who stayed in the tomb — in darkness, in death, in time suspended — before He rose again on the third day.
And these are His words to us:
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NIV
From the introduction of Take Heart: 100 Devotions to Seeing God When Life’s Not Okay by the (in)courage community.
We hope each story in this book is an offering of hope to know that we’re in this together.
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In Courage,
We should all be willing to share our hard stories. You never know who needs to hear that they aren’t alone. Going through aging parents’ dementia/psych issues was not easy for me. Days were super hard. It was God & the love of family & church that got me through. Now I readily talk about it when others are going through the same ordeal. Sometimes I offer pieces of advice to assist them, if needed. Just things I learned the hard way.
Blessings 🙂
My dear brother-in-law got word yesterday that his precious bulldog has bone cancer & he’s had to make the hard decision to put Harley down. We & other family members have been in that position of knowing when to say when for our beloved fur family members. I expressed 2 spiritual parallels from this situation. God made us for community to share each other’s burdens & joys. And Jesus died on the cross to save us at the perfect time in eternity. He’s also coming back to establish His perfect kingdom at just the right time. As we expectantly wait for His return may we be about encouraging others & pointing to the perfect hope of Jesus even as our hearts feel like they are in a vice. Blessings (((0)))
Every day shows me I’m more alone here. Online there’s others who feel alone as I do but in person I’ve got Christians telling me how to diminish my light when I’m already telling them how alone I feel.
Praying now that the Spirit will rehearse the truths that you are not alone to your heart & that you will be given in person encouragers to help you fight the battle of loneliness. No diminished light only truth & Jesus dear sister.
I agree with Ruth’s comments and am sending a you a hug. I am married, belong to a small group at my church and see more of my family than the rest of the year, yet I feel more lonely during the holidays. Everyone is so busy and family obligations and large gatherings take the place of real connecting for me (I have chronic health issues that make it more difficult to keep up). Ironically, I miss Jesus during Christmas!
Oh, our great is our God. Thank you for sharing your story. Thank you for ‘opening the door to let hope come through once more…’. I will let my light shine as I go through the valley, as I rise out of the valley, and when I reach the mountain top. Praise God for his goodness and mercy towards us, especially to me! Amen !!!
Thank you for this devotion. So important to know we are not alone, that others can come along side us, like God in skin to encourage us, support us and pray for us, and love us. I pray for all those struggling and to be reminded you are not alone, God is with us every second of the day, even if we don’t feel it. I too struggle and continue to Trust God and to be surrounded by a few people that care and love me.