Field guide · Weather
Us with Godand Loneliness
Forecast: a long cold spell, with quiet evenings and a phone that doesn’t ring.
Four tired ways to walk
Each has some truth in it. None of them is the whole story.
Under GodSheep that hide from the Shepherd
Maybe I’m alone because God is disciplining me for something.
Over GodSheep that know the way
I just need a better strategy: join a group, schedule coffees, network more.
From GodSheep that follow the grass
God, send me the right person and then I’ll be okay.
For GodSheep trying to be the sheepdog
If I stay busy enough serving, I won’t have to notice how lonely I am.
You are never alone, and he sets the lonely in families.
The psalmist was honest: “I am lonely and afflicted” (Ps 25:16). God doesn’t shame that ache. He answers it two ways. He promises himself, “Never will I leave you” (Heb 13:5). And he gives people, because “God sets the lonely in families” (Ps 68:6). We can talk with him in the empty room tonight and still let him lead us toward a table with others on it.
Where the Shepherd isHe is in the room already, as he promised: “I am with you always” (Matt 28:20).
Tell God about your loneliness out loud, then send one message to someone you’d like to know better.
Lord, will you be with me tonight, and will you show me who you are bringing near?
Fellow travelers
People in Scripture who walked this ground before us.
- Elijah told God, “I am the only one left,” and God told him about seven thousand others (1 Kings 19:10–18).
- Paul wrote that everyone deserted him at his trial, “but the Lord stood at my side” (2 Tim 4:16–17).
Keep walking
- With God: Sheep that know his voicethe posture every entry points to
- Which Way Are You Walking?a short self-check
- The Field Guideevery entry, by terrain, weather and crossing