Good News at Rock Bottom: A 5-Day Devotional Plan With Ray OrtlundSample

Good News in Loneliness

Our loneliness is a sorrow God never meant us to bear. Let’s tear down every self-created wall of isolation. Let’s break free from our little worlds of fear and resentment. Christ has made us his very body. Let’s grapple one another to our souls with hoops of steel.

If right now you are at a threshold where something new is very near, C. S. Lewis might nudge you closer: “Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art, like the universe itself (for God did not need to create). It has no survival value; rather, it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

For me, Bishop J. C. Ryle seals the deal. He helps me see the obvious I don’t want to miss out on: “This world is full of sorrow because it is full of sin. It is a dark place. It is a lonely place. It is a disappointing place. The brightest sunbeam in it is a friend. Friendship halves our troubles and doubles our joys.”

How then can we cross the threshold and enter deeply into faithful friendships? Here are two steps.

One, fill your loneliness for Jesus with Jesus. Your friends can’t be what only he is. Why not let your friends be imperfect and wonderful while you lean into Jesus as perfect and wonderful? Then you’ll be ready for some really great friends, who don’t have to be perfect.

Two, live dangerously, and give your heart away. And those are the alternatives: either staying safe in your loneliness or defying your fear. Why not stick your neck out and take a chance? If Jesus has made you a member of his church body, then dare to believe it and take the plunge with one or two trustworthy Christian friends. Meet with them. Share your feelings. David and Jonathan even formed a covenant of friendship together (1 Sam. 18:1–4). They defined what their solidarity would look like. You and your friends can do the same, if that would help. Dream out loud together about the friendship you all long for. Then funnel down to glad agreement on the new patterns of support that can strengthen all of you. Your loneliness will never, in this life, go away completely. But you can be a profound friend to other believers, and you and they will feel more alive than ever before.

You can be impressive, or you can be known, but you can’t be both. Why not get close to your friends in Christ, and all of you together become known? God himself will dwell there among you.

Reflection Questions

1. That small but weighty word “with” in Isaiah 57:15—how does that word, that realization, help you face your reality right now? As your mind and heart “riff” on that word in the verse, list your thoughts and feelings.
2. David and Jonathan made a covenant together. They resolved to be faithful friends, even when it was hard. With whom might you make such a commitment? List the trustworthy Christian friends near you who might be willing to form that strong bond of friendship in Christ. Why not give them a call and talk it over?