Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. Because of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. --Psalm 102:1-7

For most, this time of the year is the happiest. For others, it is one of the loneliest. There are three needs of people who are disappointed by loneliness: to love others, to be loved by others, and to be understood. Many times life's circumstances cause the loneliness: someone moves, life gets busy, or death or divorce separates us.

Jesus knew loneliness when He was on earth, and He understands your loneliness today. He never married or knew the intimacy of a mate. Jesus experienced loneliness in the desert of temptation as He went head-to-head with the devil. And He was even rejected and abandoned by the people in His life that were supposed to be tried and true.

Ultimately, Christ experienced loneliness and abandonment on the cross when He cried out to His Father, "Why have You forsaken Me?" The good news is that when Jesus came, died on the cross for you, and rose again on the third day, He promised you would never be lonely again. Jesus said, "I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:15).

A psalmist said, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4). In Him, you can fulfill the three things everyone needs to avoid loneliness. Jesus loves you unconditionally, desires your to be loved by you, and understands what you're going through!

PRAYER CHALLENGE: Ask the Lord that He would relieve your loneliness this season, or the lonliness of someone you love. 

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