Endurance: The Encourager Magazine

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Encourager: Hope for the Lonely Heart

Articles

Hope For The Lonely Heart
There isn't a person in the universe who can say, "I've never been lonely." It's something we all experience whether our loneliness lasts for a relatively brief moment or settles in for a season. It's a reminder of how very much we need each other. The irony is, our loneliness is often much more acute when we're enduring a season of suffering-at the very time we need the benefits of good relationships the most.

There is a loneliness that comes from being alone, such as when we move to a ... (continued)

Understanding the Needs of a Lonely Heart
She would sit on the couch and stare out the window for hours, hoping a passing car would slow down and turn into the drive. She sat there and waited, hoping that someone-anyone-would enter her lonely world. Sometimes she recognized the cars of friends, but they passed right by. Friends seldom called, but she carried the phone with her everywhere just in case it rang. While the rest of the world sped by her living room window, Sandy* was alone and lonely.

Many people who go through a sea... (continued)

Not Made to be Alone

Loneliness is the first problem God addressed in the Garden of Eden, and He declared it not good." Why? God created us for relationship. He designed us to connect with, or bond, with God and with other people. Despite our design specifications, many of us admit to being "relationally challenged." We don't bond well. We don't know how to have healthy, intimate, life-affirming relationships. Perhaps that's why the Barna Research Group reports that half of all adults say they are still trying to... (continued)

Building Relationships that Count
Our ability to bond with others requires more than a change of mind. It requires a change of heart and some hard work. We have to be willing to:

- Admit to God and to ourselves that we need healthy relationships with others.
- Ask God to bring into our lives people with whom we can have healthy relationships-people who can be trusted with our pain and our needs.
- Be vulnerable, open, and honest in our relationships.
- Empathize with others. We begin to bond as we allow our heart... (continued)

Survival Guide for a Season of Loneliness
Despite what well-meaning family and friends may suggest, there is no pat answer or quick fix to loneliness. The isolation of serious or long-term illness simply can't be wished away. The loneliness that accompanies grief often remains throughout the grieving process. New relationships don't happen overnight; they take time to develop and mature. So if there's no quick, easy way out of loneliness, how do we live with this uninvited guest? What can we do to lessen the pain?

For suggestion... (continued)

Companion for a Lonely Heart
Family and friends can't possibly meet all of our needs or be there for us every time we feel alone or scared. But the good news-the best news-is that Someone is always with us, no matter the hour or location. Although we may not feel His presence, that Someone is as near as our own heartbeat, as close as our own soul.

He is not only near, He understands the pain of our affliction better than anyone else in all of creation. In the Garden of Gethsemane, on the night before His crucifixion... (continued)

Lessening the Burden of a Lonely Heart

During one of her most painful moments, my sister-in-law, through uncontrollable sobs, expressed the pain of her loneliness after the death of her husband. For a long time I simply listened because it is so important to have someone listen to the cries of your heart when loneliness overwhelms you. When I finally spoke, one of the things I asked was if she had expressed her pain to God. I will never forget her reply. Of course, I tell God everything. But He doesn't hold me at night when I'm sc... (continued)

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