The Promise of Presence: Living Faith in Lonely Times

What times in your life have you felt lonely?

Maybe it's just an occupational hazard of being a young adult, but I feel that the last few years I've felt loneliness settle in too often, an unwelcome guest in my mind I simply can't shake off. Maybe it's the way my mind wanders during long commutes, or how I sometimes feel myself staring at the uncertainty of the future, knowing that soon I'll probably have to move again, make new friends, and integrate into a new community.

As often happens in emotionally tenuous times, I've found myself starting to truly feel the feels of Biblical texts that I didn't emotionally digest in the past. 

So many Biblical people experience deep, deep loneliness. And they also experience the gift of God's presence.

Take Hagar, Abraham's impregnated servant, who is forced to flee into the desert after experiencing horrible, life-altering abuse. In her loneliness and fear, God appears to her, calling her by name and providing water for her son. She called Him El Roi, "the God who sees me," a reminder that even after suffering injustice and humiliation, she was still seen by God. 

Or Elijah, who in 1 Kings 19 is forced to run into the wilderness to escape from ruinous Queen Jezebel. It's in the wilderness that he hides under a bush and begs for God to take his life. And then, in that moment of utter loneliness and despair, God comes to Elijah. He calls Elijah to stand on a mountain. And, after a windstorm, an earthquake, and a fire, God comes to him. As a whisper, a gentle wind, as a promise that, despite feeling utterly alone, Elijah is still seen by God.

Remember Jeremiah. Jeremiah was called by God to preach a message that no one wanted to hear. As a result, he was rejected, ridiculed, and even imprisoned. He experienced deep loneliness, yet he remained faithful to his calling, showing us that even when we engage in the hard and lonely work God calls us to, God never leaves us.

And, finally, Christ. Jesus experienced the deepest loneliness of all. In the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus anticipates the coming crucifixion in deep prayer, his most beloved friends all fall asleep. Throughout the events that lead to his death, all of the disciples abandon him. And finally, on the cross, Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus took on our loneliness so that we would never be truly alone. Because of His sacrifice, we have the assurance that God will never leave or forsake us.

Loneliness is often unbearably painful, but in the unbearable we are not alone. We're not the first generations to face loneliness and feel abandoned. Isolation is painful, but we are promised God's presence. God sees you. God understands you. God loves you. God is working in your life, and we can all lean into the narrative threads of God's promise of presence.