For all the lonely people
‘Time in the Word’ By Clayton Adams
The greatest need of humanity is the salvation of the human spirit, but, don’t forget loneliness and despair. Many people deal with loneliness every day and loneliness can drive a person to make poor choices, increases stress, anxiety and makes life depressing.
Our government has spent more than fifty trillion dollars “fixing” poverty.
But no matter how much is spent on the physical without changing the spiritual nothing really changes except the dressing. Despite the wealth of technology in our young people’s hands, many are desperately lonely and are seeking safe relationships but not finding these.
In 2016, Americans spent more than $42 billions dollars on anxiety medicines alone! Anxiety is now the fastest growing ailment in the U.S. Dig through the mountain of studies and data, one discovers that we are a sick nation; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and the three-ring circus of our government is not doing what is needed, but then, neither are most of our churches.
Serving as an associate pastor and then senior pastor in two churches, teaching for five years in a local community college and working in a medical clinic has proved to me that loneliness and despair is a daily battle for a great number of people.
The circumstances for each person may be different but the feeling of loneliness and despair is the same. Seniors, particularly those who have lost a spouse often live in prisons of agonizing loneliness.
Those ostracized by their children and forgotten by grandchildren are extremely lonely and can become depressed.
For younger folks, the divorce or death of a parent is unnatural and it opens wide the door to loneliness, depression and despair.
Many live in generational poverty and lack and this causes loneliness and despair.
We humans are wretched and terribly bad judges of each other because we don’t know the human heart (1 Samuel 16:7), we don’t even know our own heart (Jeremiah 17:9). We can be “heartless” to folks around us or we can learn to be sensitive to those God sends into our lives who need a smile, or a new friend.
As Believers in Jesus the Christ we have the power of Christ to help us listen for the sounds of loneliness and help change one person’s life. We can help our neighbors and even strangers move past their loneliness by using our time, talent, treasure, touch and our attention. We can replace despair and loneliness with fellowship and friendship.
If you follow Jesus, you have a calling on your life to attend to those who are sick, helpless and lonely.
Will you answer the call in your life?
Clayton Adams has a message of faith he would like to share with the community. He would also like to hear from you. E-mail him at claytonpadamslll@
Clayton Adams
