Loneliness & Repentance
For someone who's pretty independent, it's hard for me to be alone.
Anyone who prefers to do things by themselves obviously spends a lot of time on their own - and has experienced loneliness.
The world tells you that it's bad to be alone. Be with people. Find a partner. Make friends. Spend time around others. Go out.
If you have friends, it's almost worst when you feel lonely. Why am I lonely when I have this person and that person? Sometimes loneliness hits you when you're surrounded by people, whether you know them or not. You could be with people you've known your whole life and still feel lonely.
I know that being alone does not always need to equate loneliness. Yes, there is a difference. Being alone is literally being by yourself with no one else. Loneliness, on the other hand, is a feeling. It comes from a deep longing in your heart for fulfillment, satisfaction and companionship. And you can turn to your friends, your family, your partner, your pet - you can have momentary happiness with all of these. But don't you want pure joy?
I recently witnessed a beautiful wedding. There was definitely joy there. When your sight is so focused on Christ, your mind reflecting on his word and emotions of gratefulness and awe overcome you, there's no room for loneliness.
In this case, you allow yourself to give in to the world's lies: that being alone is bad. But are we ever really alone? Loneliness should point you to the only One who can fill that emptiness in your life.
Repentance. Often it begins with guilt, though it really shouldn't. That's usually what happens when you realize you've done wrong. You feel stupid for wasting your energy on these thoughts or those actions. Then you get sad. You feel bad about yourself for how you weren't strong enough to do the right thing, how you made the same mistake again, how you let your guard down.
But that's not right. Repentance begins with recognizing our sin - yes, that's the easy part. You recognize that abandoning truth and believing lies pulls you away from what you were created for. But then what?
The unchanging truth of forgiveness, of renewal, of love never needed to be so real until we chose to destroy ourselves - that's sin. Jesus sacrificed himself entirely for every single sin you have and will commit - that's love. But do you believe it?
Unless you allow the Spirit and his word to speak truth back into your life after being deceived by your own thoughts, you're not repenting. When you believe what the Bible says, there's nowhere else to look but the cross.
When you begin to grasp this reality that we will never fully understand in this lifetime and you believe that you are forgiven and loved, that truth shapes you.
But only if you allow it to.
This loneliness that you're facing. It's an emotion that you have control over. Either you let it run through your mind and down into your heart, or you allow truth to do the same.
You can't expect any change if you're not willing to be broken down in order to become perfectly new.
Perfect.
Don't you want that? It only comes from wanting the One who is perfection. And in case you forgot or are still having trouble believing, perfection loves you. Holiness found you. Righteousness seeks you.
Truth exposes the stuff you wished would never surface. And it hurts like a swish swish bish. Removing anything that has deep roots in your skin or your body is not painless. Use all the anesthesia you want today, numb yourself with alcohol, drugs, sex, fake happiness, whatever you want; you'll feel it in the morning.
Ask for change (not the money kind) and it will come to you, but only if you trust the truth. And you'll only understand how much you need the truth when you realize why you need it.
See that loneliness you're feeling? See that sadness and struggle you experience? See that pain and hopelessness and anger taking over? That's why you need the truth.
The truth will set you free.
It may not look like this "freedom" is worth it to you now, but if this joy is supposedly real and life-changing, what do you have to lose?
Anyone who prefers to do things by themselves obviously spends a lot of time on their own - and has experienced loneliness.
The world tells you that it's bad to be alone. Be with people. Find a partner. Make friends. Spend time around others. Go out.
If you have friends, it's almost worst when you feel lonely. Why am I lonely when I have this person and that person? Sometimes loneliness hits you when you're surrounded by people, whether you know them or not. You could be with people you've known your whole life and still feel lonely.
I know that being alone does not always need to equate loneliness. Yes, there is a difference. Being alone is literally being by yourself with no one else. Loneliness, on the other hand, is a feeling. It comes from a deep longing in your heart for fulfillment, satisfaction and companionship. And you can turn to your friends, your family, your partner, your pet - you can have momentary happiness with all of these. But don't you want pure joy?
I recently witnessed a beautiful wedding. There was definitely joy there. When your sight is so focused on Christ, your mind reflecting on his word and emotions of gratefulness and awe overcome you, there's no room for loneliness.
In this case, you allow yourself to give in to the world's lies: that being alone is bad. But are we ever really alone? Loneliness should point you to the only One who can fill that emptiness in your life.
Repentance. Often it begins with guilt, though it really shouldn't. That's usually what happens when you realize you've done wrong. You feel stupid for wasting your energy on these thoughts or those actions. Then you get sad. You feel bad about yourself for how you weren't strong enough to do the right thing, how you made the same mistake again, how you let your guard down.
But that's not right. Repentance begins with recognizing our sin - yes, that's the easy part. You recognize that abandoning truth and believing lies pulls you away from what you were created for. But then what?
The unchanging truth of forgiveness, of renewal, of love never needed to be so real until we chose to destroy ourselves - that's sin. Jesus sacrificed himself entirely for every single sin you have and will commit - that's love. But do you believe it?
Unless you allow the Spirit and his word to speak truth back into your life after being deceived by your own thoughts, you're not repenting. When you believe what the Bible says, there's nowhere else to look but the cross.
When you begin to grasp this reality that we will never fully understand in this lifetime and you believe that you are forgiven and loved, that truth shapes you.
But only if you allow it to.
This loneliness that you're facing. It's an emotion that you have control over. Either you let it run through your mind and down into your heart, or you allow truth to do the same.
You can't expect any change if you're not willing to be broken down in order to become perfectly new.
Perfect.
Don't you want that? It only comes from wanting the One who is perfection. And in case you forgot or are still having trouble believing, perfection loves you. Holiness found you. Righteousness seeks you.
Truth exposes the stuff you wished would never surface. And it hurts like a swish swish bish. Removing anything that has deep roots in your skin or your body is not painless. Use all the anesthesia you want today, numb yourself with alcohol, drugs, sex, fake happiness, whatever you want; you'll feel it in the morning.
Ask for change (not the money kind) and it will come to you, but only if you trust the truth. And you'll only understand how much you need the truth when you realize why you need it.
See that loneliness you're feeling? See that sadness and struggle you experience? See that pain and hopelessness and anger taking over? That's why you need the truth.
The truth will set you free.
It may not look like this "freedom" is worth it to you now, but if this joy is supposedly real and life-changing, what do you have to lose?
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