If You Are Lonely

~from “When God Writes Your Love Story” by Eric and Leslie Ludy~

Eric endured a period of profound loneliness while he was taking a semester off from college. He had just come from a busy schedule at school that included sports, study, and an active social life. Now, back at home with an empty schedule while all his buddies were still at school and his family was occupied with their lives, he felt an intense inward pain like nothing he’d ever before known. One day he found himself on his knees, weeping into the fabric of the sofa. The loneliness had become too much to handle. As he cried out to his Lord, he suddenly felt a tremendous peace wash over him. It was almost as if Jesus Himself were kneeling beside Eric, wrapping a tender arm around his shoulders and whispering words of love and comfort to his soul.

That afternoon Eric sat at the piano and wrote this song:

I am like a deer, You are like that water.

I run to You, like a son to his Father,

I felt so alone, like a moth without a flame,

But You ignited, and to You I came,

And that’s forever.

I felt so alone, like a ship without a sea.

But You gave me water,

You took my hand and said to me,

“This is for eternity.”

I’ll never be lonely,

I’ll never be lonely without You.

I’ve got this feeling that You’re here to stay,

And I know I’ll never be lonely with You.

Elizabeth Elliot once said, “Loneliness is a required course for leadership.” If God is preparing you to make an impact on this world for His kingdom, chances are He will take you through a season of solitude. This is a season when you learn that you can’t lean upon anyone but Him or your confidence and when you gain the strength to stand alone even when no one stands with you.

In the past fourteen years of Christian ministry, Eric and I have often been incredible grateful for the seasons of loneliness we experienced before we were married – those times when we learned to stand firm in our convictions and find refuge and comfort in the arms of our Kind, to live for only His smile, even when it seems no one else was smiling upon us. So many times in standing for Truth we have felt utterly alone. If we hadn’t allowed God to give each of us a strong backbone and prepare us to stand apart from the crowd, we surely would have crumbled and compromised a long time ago.

Don’t despise loneliness. Instead, allow it to chase you into the ready arms of your King. If you turn to Him instead of trying to fill the void with other things, you will find that He is ready to meet your every need. You’ll also discover that He may be using loneliness to prepare and equip you to be a leader, to stand firm when everyone else’s courage is failing, and to live for the applause of your King alone.