Good morning,Imagine being confined to an apartment no bigger than some bedrooms, not just for a day or two or even a week, but for months on end. Meals are left outside your door, and while you can talk to loved ones over the phone, there is no physical contact with anyone. It has been reported that one of the greatest health threats during the pandemic hasn’t been the disease itself, but the harmful effects of loneliness it has brought about.
You don’t have to be a quarantined senior citizen to feel the burden of loneliness. You could be surrounded by people at work, but if no one seems to care about you beyond your job performance, life can be extremely lonely. If you don’t share your deepest thoughts and concerns because you don’t think others will understand, it can feel as though you are all alone in the middle of nowhere.
It’s one of the curses of sin. Sin cuts people off from one another. What’s far worse, it isolates us from God. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear” (Is. 59:2). How can we go to God for help and reassurance when all we deserve is His anger and punishment?
But God sees our loneliness. He knows all about our sins, yesterday’s as well as the guilt of a lifetime. Yet instead of abandoning us to eternal separation from Him in hell, He came to live here as our Savior-Brother. Jesus didn’t leave us to suffer alone. He didn’t come to take just some of the burden. He took all our suffering upon Himself. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Is. 53:4). Now He promises, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).
There will always be lonely situations, but the child of God is never really all alone. Even when one’s world is reduced to the four walls of a small apartment, the Lord is there in His Word ready to comfort and strengthen the lonely heart. When no one else seems to care or have time for you, the Lord is always ready to hear your prayer and to answer in amazing ways. When guilt and fear leave you feeling vulnerable and alone, go to the Father in Jesus’ name with the simple plea, “Lord, have mercy!” Then look to the cross. You are not alone!
In Jesus’ name,
PastorServices tomorrow are 8:00 and 10:45 a.m. Sunday school is at 9:30 and adult Bible class at 9:45 a.m.
The public school confirmation class meets at 12:15 p.m.
Here is the link for service signup: https://tinyurl.com/y2j5r8sn
Signing up for the Sunday service by 6 p.m. Saturday is appreciated and helpful and a way of showing Christian love for one another. It gives the Elders and ushers an idea of how many people to prepare for. When you sign up you can also see how full the service will be, and if you wish, consider attending the other service. By signing up, you can easily be informed if that were advisable because of contact with someone at the service who later became ill.
The governor’s mask order is still in effect for all indoor spaces, including churches. Masks are available in the entry if you forget yours.
