16 Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am
called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. 17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetual and
my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will You surely be to me like an unreliable stream, as
waters that fail? Jeremiah 15:16-18
I. WHAT IS LONELINESS
A. Loneliness is a strong sense of alienation, a very powerful and overwhelming sense of emotional estrangement
that is rooted in spiritual bareness but can very powerfully enhanced by scenarios of the past that produced mindsets
and strong holds in the soul.
B. Loneliness is an empty trembling with deep pain and its nature is such that there is no amount of companionship
that can touch or heal it. Thinking that companionship is the answer, is the illusion that accompanies loneliness however
it is a profound feeling of being isolated, a strong sense of invisibility and or being unheard making it difficult to relate
in a meaningful way. There is a basic sense of human loneliness and then there is an overwhelming sense of loneliness
that is an inflammation that sometimes is energized by flaming arrows of the enemy.
C. Some symptoms of loneliness are: feelings of mistrust, internal disconnectedness from social realities (celebrations),
anger, self-pity, oppression, being paralyzed internally, apathy (inability to function), loss of perspective, posturing for
rejection, there as an outlook on life with a no as opposed to living with a yes
20 “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” 2 Corinthians 1:20
D. Loneliness is an inward emotional state that is not related to personality types (extrovert or introvert). It is not the
same is solitude or being alone in that being alone is good and healthy and true solitude is about fellowship with the Holy
Spirit. Loneliness is hollow and can also be described as a strong feeling of forsakenness, which sometimes can be
aggravated by human contact. Depending on the personality type loneliness can be heightened when around people
and subside when alone which can lead to isolation.
1 A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment. Proverbs 18:1
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14
1 “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and
mercy…” Phil 2:1
E. The illusion of loneliness is to think that it is about companionship however it is a profound feeling of being isolated
and sometimes a very strong sense of invisibility and being unheard. making it difficult to relate in a meaningful way
when these feelings are stirred up or awakened.
F. Loneliness is difficult to admit because of the fear of being perceived as quirky and the fear of vulnerability. A person
struggling with loneliness of battles with a sense that they are being petty and that they are the only ones battling with
loneliness. In fact one of the first steps in the battle of loneliness is acknowledging that one is battling with it and then
finding a few trusted friends to who one can share this struggle.
II. TRINITY: PARTICIPATING IN THE HOLY AND DIVINE INNER CIRCLE
A. The reality of the Trinity is one that must be entered into through meditation where worship becomes the conduit
and container for revelation and understanding.
B. I believe that there is significant impact that awaits us when our communion becomes Trinitarian, because
Trinitarian thinking and communion causes us to get our eyes off of ourselves and get lost in the divine fellowship into
which we have been called.
C. The modern culture of subjectivity has long since been in danger of turning into a culture of narcissism, which
makes the self its own prisoner and supplies it merely with self-repetitions and self-confirmations. It is therefore time
for Christian theology to break out of this prison of narcissism, and for it to present its doctrine of faith as one of the
all-embracing history of God This does not mean falling back into objectivistic orthodoxy. What it does mean is that
experience of the self has to be integrated into the experience of God, and the experience of God has to be integrated
into the Trinitarian history of God with the world. God is no longer related to the narrow limits of a forgiven, individual
self. On the contrary, the individual self will be discovered in the overriding history of God and only finds its meaning
in that context.
And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. (John 17:5)
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one… (John 17:22)
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:9, emphasis added)
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
(2 Corinthians 13:14, emphasis added)
D. The reality of the Trinity has powerful contemplative value. We’ve been invited to participate in the eternal
fellowship and communion of the Godhead.
“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God …
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have
been freely given to us by God” 1 Corinthians 2:10, 12
III. LONELINESS IS ANXIETY
25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink (nourishment and provision);
nor about your body (comfort), what you will put on. Is not life more than food (nourishment and provision) and the body
(comfort) more than clothing (honor and status)? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather
into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can
add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing (honor and status)? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will
He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat (nourishment
and provisions)?’ or ‘What shall we drink(nourishment and provisions)?’ or ‘What shall we wear (honor and status)?’ 32
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek
first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
A. Loneliness is a manifestation of anxiety in that it is rooted in a fear of being left alone and forgotten. This fear
stirs up all manner of anxieties defiling our spirit which only be healed by fully embracing the truth of the gospel and
living it out in the grace of God
21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
B. The reality of loneliness is rooted in anxiety, which is a wrongly prioritized desire for honor, money, recognition
and comfort. Loneliness gives the illusion that either of these can be the solution to our despair.
C. Anxiety steals time (Mt 6:27) where as prayer redeems time Ephesians 5:16. Worry is the opposite of prayer. Anxiety
is the feasting on self, not being able to see past ourselves rather then fellowshipping with the Spirit.
“Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Matt 6:27
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Eph 5:15-16
D. The primary way out of the swirl of loneliness is Jesus’ prescribed way
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matt 6:33
“Indeed the hour is coming yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own and will leave Me alone.
And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.” John 16:32
“Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved,
every man for his sons and his daughters, but David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” 1 Sam 30:6
IV. TURNING LONELINESS INTO A SACRED SPACE
19 Therefore thus says the LORD: “ If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me; if you take out the
precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them. Jeremiah 15:19
A. God was not “working” for Jeremiah because he prayed but we find out in verse 19 that his heart was not turned
to the Lord. Jeremiah had closed His spirit not allowing himself to be vulnerable to the Lord and for the Spirit of God to
visit him in the deep recesses of his soul. There was a do not enter sign on the chambers of his soul.
B. When we bring the void of our loneliness before the Lord in the place of prayer that void will be transformed into
a sacred space of fulfillment and joy as the Holy Spirit fills us with the knowledge of God.
“For this reason we also since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and ask that you may be filled with the
knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding…” Colossians 1:9
C. The knowledge of God is the primary antidote for our loneliness –
“If you receive My words, and treasure My commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your
heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as
silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the
knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:1–5)
1. Receiving God’s words – obedience
2. Treasure my commands – meditation
3. Incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding – teachable
4. Cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding – prayer
5. Seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures – refusing to be denied
D. It is essential that we confess our struggle with these near us and those we trust for the purpose of prayer –
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a
righteous man avails much.” Jam 5:16
E. Ask the Lord for insight was triggers the inflammation of loneliness i.e. situations, forms of entertainment, seasons of the
year (holidays), physical energy level.
“… that each of your should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor …” 1 Thess 4:4
F. Sufficient rest and regular eating –
“Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touch him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then
he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down
again.” 1 Kings 19:5-6
G. Pouring out oneself continued and steadfastly in true Christian fellowship –
“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” Prov 11:25
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Acts 2:42
1. Apostles doctrine – study of the word, small group bible study
2. Fellowship – strengthening the saints, encouraging, exhorting, comforting in truth flowing in the gifts of the Holy Spirit
3. Breaking of bread – remembering his broken body and shed blood for the new covenant
“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your
souls.” Heb 12:3
4. Prayers – contemplative, supplications, intercessions and thanksgiving (corporately and privately)