“Every human interaction is a reminder that our communal God has made us for community.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 26, 2023
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. Psalm 139:7-12, NIV
As creatures made in the image of a triune God, community and communion with God is the very purpose for which we were made. And by extension, we live as icons and signposts of this eternal communion whenever we live in relationship with others. This is true of our most intimate connections, such as a husband or wife, yet we also reflect this eternal truth as we live in communion with siblings, parents, friends, and even neighbors and coworkers.
Every human interaction is a reminder that our communal God has made us for community.
This is the reason loneliness is one of the most difficult and profoundly disorienting griefs any one of us can bear. When we feel lonely, we are longing for that core expression of our very humanity that is seemingly lost. We are made to be known, and loneliness is the absence of knowing, the emptiness of isolation.
Loneliness takes on many shapes and forms. There is the loss of intimacy through sickness and death, parting with the one person with whom we built a life and journeyed together through countless moments of both joy and sorrow. Yet loneliness is also found in the longing for an intimacy that was never known. Similarly, we feel it in the desire for close friendships that, for whatever reason, remain elusive. Again, as image bearers of a communal God, there are countless ways in which the pain of loneliness can be known and encountered.
Yet as real as this season of loneliness may be, there is an even greater reality, a deeper truth to which we must cling: God is always with us, so we are never truly alone. In the words of the Psalmist, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7).
God’s omniscience is a soothing balm to the wound of isolation. His ever-present love and care remind us that, even in seasons of deep grief over the loss of or longing for human intimacy, it is impossible to be truly alone, for God is with us and has promised never to leave. Cling to this truth today, and even as you navigate the challenges of this earthly life, discover afresh the profound joy that comes from living in communion with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Prayer
Father, heal our lonely hearts today by the gift of your presence, we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Seek today to foster an awareness and attentiveness to the nearness of God, the one in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).
Related Reading
Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalm 27:10; Isaiah 41:10
Worship Resource
Justin Barnard: Psalm 139
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