Lately, I’ve been feeling completely and utterly alone. I have friends, but I don’t feel close to anyone. What do I do?
I know there are many who can relate. It’s hard to be in a group of friends and feel left out or even to be all alone with no one to turn to. If we let it, loneliness can take on our entire sense of who we are and lead to a state of depression. But there is hope. In the midst of our loneliness, we can look to God. My prayer is that you will look to God in the midst of your loneliness and realize that you are never alone.
Wayne Watson sings a song called “Friend of A Wounded Heart.” The song begins, “Smile, make them think you’re happy. Lie and say that things are fine. Hide that empty longing that you feel. Keep your heart concealed.” This song spoke to me during the lonely times in my life because I felt that it really said what I was feeling. The great part about the song is that it goes on to say, “Jesus. He meets you where you are. Jesus, He heals your secret scars. All the love you’re longing for is Jesus, the friend of a wounded heart.”
Pray to God and tell Him what you are feeling. In the Psalms you will find that when David was down in the dumps he cried out to God to help him. Psalm 5:1-2 says, “Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.” Psalms is a really great book of the Bible to read when you are going through a hard time. Try to read a Psalm a day and write down in a journal what the Psalm is talking about and how that particular Psalm speaks to you.
Sometimes in order to get close to people it is important to open up to them and let them know that you are having a hard time. Is there a friend or a mentor you trust that you can talk to? Just share with them what you feel and ask them to pray with you. If you do not know anyone, ask your youth minister or pastor if they would be willing to meet and pray with you. And take a look around, I bet there are others around you too who might feel the same.
Please do not give up hope. God is a God of comfort and a God of love. He cares for you; tell Him what you’re feeling and rest in His strength and grace.
