Dealing with Loneliness

Hello friends! In this episode, I discuss loneliness and share my own life experiences surrounding this topic. If you are struggling or know someone struggling with this, please listen and share. I hope this encourages you today. God bless you!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Shining the Light Podcast. I'm your host, Keisha Le Brun. Thanks so much for joining me today. Today's topic is dealing with loneliness. God said, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. I will go with you all the way, even unto the end of the world. God provides us with comfort, enough comfort to carry us through every single day. From Max Lakato's book, You Are Never Alone, it states, one study found that loneliness is as dangerous to one's health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. It can lead to dementia, Alzheimer's, heart disease, a weakened immune system, a shorter lifespan. Administrators of one of the largest hospitals in America cite loneliness as a major reason for overcrowded emergency rooms, just simply isolation. It's not God's will for us to be lonely. For a man he gives a helpmate. For a human, he gives a fellow human, a companion, a friend. Unity between brethren is a force, a strong bond, not easily broken. There is strength in numbers, and for this reason the enemy tries to disconnect us, to cut the cord from the support system around us. He tries to make us feel alone and weak and vulnerable, like we are prey to the hunter of our soul. Ask yourself, has this happened to me? Has this occurred in my life and I couldn't pinpoint exactly what was happening, but I felt the feeling of despair, loneliness, emptiness, confusion? Or is it something you are going through right now? You are not alone. We are in this together, and we will overcome by the grace of God together, you and I and Christ. All my life, loneliness has plagued me from time to time. It goes away, it comes back. It goes away, it comes back. This is a continuous fight, but through Jesus there is deliverance and strength for each new day. I want you to know I'm here. Even if we never physically cross paths, I am here. You have Jesus and you have me in your corner. So first of all, the devil's a liar, he's a deviser of friends, a sower of discord among the brethren. He is mischievous, and we must be aware of his tactics and realize what he is trying to accomplish in our life. That way we can push back and fight against these things with the help of the Lord. The devil will put us in a situation that will put the pressure on, that intensifies the hurt we already feel. He finds that weak button in our life and he tries to stomp on it. We must be aware of his tactics, of his plans. If it's loneliness we struggle with, he will be sure to put us in a situation that intensifies that feeling. Let me give you an example. There was an incident not long ago where I felt like I needed just some extra support. I was struggling a bit. I didn't want to be open about my struggles. I wanted to keep them hidden. Attempt to fight my battles alone, as I most often try to do. I often wonder if I broke the mold, because the internal struggle seems to only let up a little. And that was brutally honest, wasn't it? Is there anybody else out there that feels the same way as I do? You wonder why the internal struggle never lets up. Well you can get victory and you can get better, and then something else will knock you flat on your back, and you're having to crawl your way up again. Tell me I'm not the only one out there that experiences this. But recently I heard something that made total sense to me. Somebody said that if the enemy is not fighting you, then you are not a threat to him. You are obviously not doing anything that warrants a threat to him and to his plan. So next time that you wonder why you're being fought so hard, know that it's because you are a threat to the devil and to his plan that God has a greater plan for your life and he's going to use you for great things, and the devil's trying to sabotage that. So know that it's not a time to be weary in the fighting. It's time to press on, to move forward, to fight your way through, because it's God's plan to use you, use you wonderfully and mightily for his glory. Embrace that. There's all kinds of plans that are made for you, but the only one that matters is God's plan. So back to my story here. I was attending a foot washing, secretly waiting for my turn so that I could let the tears freely flow and I wouldn't look like a spectacle, or to look like how I was feeling inside. The room was decorated so lovely, the speakers were on point, the food was delicious, and yet I still felt alone, in a room full of potential support. Ladies had prepared everything so wonderfully, no detail unaddressed, and then it was time for the main event, the reason we all came together in the first place, for that support, for that bond, for that unity, for help, for healing. I took my place with the rest of the ladies. I was weak, needing the support of a friend, a spiritual help in which to lean upon in that moment. People began to pray for one another, and I waited. My feet in the water and I waited. And no one ever came to wash my feet, to intimately pray for me, just me, as I so desperately needed right then. So when the prayers ceased, I withdrew my feet, I dried them off myself, I picked up my heart, and I got through it. But I wondered, Am I invisible? God, do you even see me? No one around me even noticed. Do you notice God? There will be a time or maybe several times within a lifetime that you feel unseen. But I promise you God sees you. A lady had asked me in passing if I had had my feet washed yet. I shook my head yes, but I wouldn't tell her that I was the one that washed them. Please understand what I'm saying. The support was there. Some of the best women I know. It wasn't necessarily an oversight. It was war that was waged on my spirit. These ladies were unaware of the spiritual attack that was made on me that day. They all, every one of them, would have washed my feet. I have no doubt. If they would have noticed. But this is how the enemy works. He sees breaks in the unity. He sees somebody struggling from thoughtless words or deeds from another, or he sees somebody overwhelmed with the cares of life, the struggles of every single day, the insecurities. And he tries to break that cord and separate us from the pack. Don't let him do it. Understand it's not the support system, it's the enemy. Realize who you are fighting against. It's not each other, it's the enemy of your soul. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. The Word of God tells us to put on the armor, the whole armor of God, that we may withstand in this hour. See, it wasn't me who picked up my heart off the floor that day. It was God. He is and was my strength. All of the ladies worked really hard to put this together and it was a wonderful success. There was help, there was healing, there was strength. It was a great time. Please don't misunderstand me. The pastor's wife did a wonderful talk to the rest of us ladies about the importance of coming together and doing this and unity and the strength that we draw from one another. The youth pastor's wife was doing a wonderful job in making sure that everybody had clean water. She was cleaning up, she was keeping things going. She was praying for people. She'd done everything in her role right. I could have become bitter to those who I needed help from the most that didn't offer it. I could have allowed myself to be withdrawn even more. And although I questioned and wandered, I knew where the origin of the attack came from. And through silent tears, I knew the origin of where my help comes from. For my help comes from the Lord. I am not perfect. I am no perfect person. No human being has the capability to be perfect without the help of the Lord. We will fall short. God will restore. I mean no harm with my transparency. I only mean to bring awareness. When you are on my side of the coin, you need to hear, you need to learn, and you need to realize the pitfalls the enemy has planned for you. So when those things do occur, you can be confident that your help comes from the Lord and that you are never alone, and that he sees you, and that he cares for you, and you will make it through such a time as this. Every single person around me would have came to my aid if I would have only crawled out of the shadows. Don't try to suffer and fight alone. We need one another. And if you have no one else, you have God who is all that you'll ever need. And you have me. God has blessed me with some wonderful people in my life. I am a very blessed girl. Loneliness should never visit my door. Send it away. Don't sympathize with it. Send it packing. It may come again looking for lodging. But hang the no vacancy sign up and turn out the light. God made you for this. And with the help of the Lord, your struggles will become someone else's lifeline of strength. Don't run from the battle. Use the enemy's own weapons against him. If it's loneliness you feel, use that loneliness to throw out a lifeline to another lonely and hurting heart. If we put all our broken pieces together, we can be a part of God's marvelous masterpiece. Be encouraged today, friends. God knows everything about you, and he still loves you. And he still has a great purpose for your life. If the enemy can isolate you, he can take the ability away from you to be effective. When you feel that spirit coming on, rebuke it. Refuse to go down that same old rabbit trail, that repeat of history. Sometimes the button gets jammed, doesn't it? Give that button a punch and unglue the thing. Use what God has given you, use your experiences good and bad to give the devil a black eye. Through Christ all things are possible to him that believeth. So friend, I guess what I'm trying to say today is let's not feel sorry for ourselves. You know, if we're in a situation like this, let's just say, Lord help me through this. I feel vulnerable right now and I feel a little bit sorry for myself and I shouldn't feel that way because I know that this is unintentional. I know that the enemy is just trying to attack me, and I'm just gonna fight back. I'm gonna fight back and push back against that force and say, devil, if I have to crawl on my knees until I get to the destination, that's what I'm gonna do. If I don't have any cheerleaders behind me, nobody patting me on the back, if I'm having to make the crawl and push and press and get through this thing with your help, I know I can do it. Now I'm sure you're gonna have people in your corner. There's gonna be people that are pushing you forward, that are helping you, that are trying to encourage you, praying for you. I know you'll have support, but what I'm saying is there might be somebody out there that I'm speaking to that has no support. You don't have anybody that's cared about you in your life. Know that Christ does care. He created you, he has a plan for you, and all he's doing is waiting for you to accept him, for you to surrender your life to him, and he's gonna do great things in your life, but you have to let go of the control that you think you have and give it over to him, everything. Be willing to surrender your life for a greater purpose, for a beautiful purpose that he has created in you. You know, God can take control of your life if he wants to. He has all control, all power in his hands, but he is a gentleman, the Bible tells us that. He's a gentleman and he's not gonna dwell where he is not entreated. He has so much love for you that he gives you a choice, he's not a dictator. He wants you to go to heaven, he wants you to make the right choices in life, he wants to show you the way, and he will show you the way, but you have to listen, you have to be willing to obey, because he's not gonna force you. The great thing about his love is he's not gonna make you serve him, he's not gonna make you go to heaven. He says, I love you so much that I'm giving you the choice. Choose this day. He tells us choose this day who you'll serve, but he says to choose life and to live. That's his will for your life. Whether you choose that or not, that is up to you. But he showed you the way in his word, he wants the best for you. He is a good, good father. The best, in fact, the only wise king. There is God the Father, there's Jesus Christ His Son. So you have God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, that is a comfort and a guide. All three work together as one, three separate persons in the Godhead, and they work together for our good. So now I'd like to share something that's really neat that happened to me about last week, I think. So we closed up service on Wednesday night so that way we could go and support a youth camp about an hour and a half away. The brother and sister that pastor this church that we went and visited, they're very sweet people. This is an all-time favorite youth camp through the years. It's been going on for years. It's a very much loved, the sweetest people you'll ever meet in your life. I wanted to be there, uh, but I can't drive at night. Um, long distances like that, I have such a hard time staying awake. So out of the blue, somebody calls me that uh normally wouldn't call and says, Hey, um, I'd like to go to the service tonight, but I was just wondering if you were going. I didn't really, you know, want to drive all the way down there. I kind of wanted to go with somebody. So I said, Yeah, I would like to go. That would be great. So we went together. We went, the service was great, and God provided for that need. So fast forward to the next day on Thursday. The camp meeting was still going on, the youth camp, and my heart just wanted to be there. I wanted to be around God's people in the midst of God's spirit. I just wanted to be there. I was like, what do I do now? I really want to go. Um, so God actually laid somebody on my heart. I reached out to them personally and come to find out they had wanted to go Wednesday night, the car broke down, they couldn't go, and they wanted to go Thursday, but they didn't have anybody to go with them. Um, it worked out perfectly. And come to find out, um, at service there. Uh her nephew was baptized in the Holy Ghost that night. It was just planned. God planned it out. I didn't know, and I was oblivious to it. God just went before us both and made the way. And it was wonderful. We had a wonderful time of fellowship all the way back home. I was able to stay awake. We talked, we laughed, we had coffee. It was great. It was a wonderful time. Um, and that's just like some of the wonderful things. That's an example, another example from my life, how God can just provide in the things that we don't really even think about. Um, it's just, it's just great to serve the Lord, isn't it? So back to what I said earlier, whether it's a positive or negative thing, the good experiences, the bad experiences, let's use them all for the glory of God. Let's use them all to reach out to other people and to help one another. I absolutely love my church. Is there anybody else out there that has a wonderful church that they go to that they love their church? Can I get an amen? Amen. I'm gonna pretend I hear amens coming from the other side of the stereo. And I also wanted to share some amazing news. So during this youth camp, there was also a 14-year-old boy that was called to preach. And let me tell you, I have no doubt that he was called to preach. He testified tonight during service and he was telling us what God had done in his life, and you could see the Holy Ghost all over him. You know, he was talking about how David got called at a young age. Um, he was young and ready, and God uh anointed him to be king. Um, look at Samuel when God called Samuel when he was a wee little boy, and you know, he kept calling him, and um Eli said, you know, go back to sleep. Um, like he thought he was just hearing things, but God was calling him Samuel. And finally Samuel said, Here am I. And God used him. He was a great prophet, a great man of God. Um, so you know, it does not matter your age, God can use anybody. He can use a donkey. My goodness, he used a donkey in the Word of God, and he can just use whatever. I mean, whatever he wants to do, he can do. That's that's what he's gonna do. Time is winding up. God is coming back soon, very soon. And the time frame for us to work is dwindling down. So yes, he's gonna use the young, the middle aged, the old. If he can use you, he's gonna use you. And all you have to do is be obedient, have a willing heart, no matter how little or small or great or big. He can use you, and it's time for you to work for the Lord. There is no better time. We can't borrow and beg back time. It's quickly passing us by. You know, I am very guilty of wasting time, valuable time, doing things, putting efforts into things that are not profitable. Things that don't um further the kingdom of the gospel. It could just waste a time. And I'm getting sick and tired of wasting valuable time, the time God has given me. Lord forgive me. Help me to be proactive, quit wasting time. If I'm gonna do something, help me to do it for the Lord. And help me to do it now, 'cause God knows I'm not getting any younger. Be encouraged, brothers and sisters, there is not a tear that has fallen from your cheek, but what God has seen, bottled up, and recorded. So today I want to speak with anybody out there that feels lonely, lost, and forgotten. The truth is you are so loved, cherished, and longed for, and God knows every hurt, every secret wound, every question, every reserve, every insecurity, every hidden thing, the tears, the scars, the hurt behind your smile, the confusion and pain behind your eyes, the secret door behind your heart, the things you never want to talk about, but the things that are always on your mind. God has freedom for you. It is within reach. Sometimes we have to charge hell with every ounce of strength we have, and when we do we realize that God's strength takes over and does the impossible thing. We need resolve, a vision, a made up mind. Live or die, I've got to move. If you are feeling like an outcast today or like you don't belong or you don't fit in, I want to encourage you to take a one step forward in the right direction. If there's a group of people and you want to be included but you feel so left out, approach them. Even if you don't say anything, just stand there and be a part of it. Be present. Keep moving forward. It's gonna pay off. Keep moving one step in the right direction. And God will walk with you, and He will help you. But don't forget, we are not meant to fit into this world. God already told us in His Word, we are to be separate, saith the Lord. We are a peculiar people. We are not meant to fit in, folks. We are meant to stand out. We are not meant to be hidden. We are meant to be a light shining upon the hill for all to see the glory of God. If you want to blend into this world, that's not God's plan for your life. He already told us in the blessed word of God, we were meant to stand out and to stand against those who oppose God. What would have happened if David would have gone to the battle when he took his brothers some snacks and some food to sustain them? His father had sent food for the brothers that were in the army. And if David would have gone and delivered the food, looked at the giant and said, Eee, I'm going to blend into this crowd. I can't fight that giant. What would have happened? History could have rewrote itself. The people of God would have become slaves to the Philistines. And what would have happened if Moses would not have allowed God to use him? Because Moses had a speech impediment, and he already talked to God about that. So God in his great love and mercy allowed Aaron his brother to speak in his stead, but he still used Moses for great and mighty things. Moses is the one whose arms was raised and the parting of the Red Sea where they walked on dry land, but what would have happened? Would God's people have escaped Egypt land? Would they have escaped the slavery and became free? If Moses would not have allowed God to use him? Let's continue on, shall we? What about Jael and the tent peg? What would have happened if she would have cowered down and thought within herself, Oh, I better not do this. What if he wakes up? What if he kills me? But no, she schemed this plan, marvelous woman. She brought the enemy milk in a lordy dish. She laid him down to sleep, tucked him in, and she drove the tent peg in his temple and killed him there. And there was great victory for God's people. What else? What about Esther? What about Queen Esther, who was Hadassah, Mordecai's uh relative? He took care of her. And she was put in a position that she didn't really want to be in at first. And Mordecai told her, you know, you may be in this position for such a time as this. And God wrought great victory for his people through Hadassah, through Esther. Because Esther was willing. She fasted, she prayed, and she went before the king. She went before her new husband. That took courage. He could have executed her for entering into his presence unannounced. And she knew that, and yet she still took the risk because the risk was worth it. What would have happened if she would not have went before the king, if she would not have put her trust in the Lord? The Jews would not have been able to fight back against those that were coming against them with weapons to destroy and annihilate them. God will accomplish what he will, whether he uses you to do it, if you refuse him, he will use somebody else to accomplish his will. But there may be tragedies along the way if we do not allow God to do what he wants to do in our life. What would have happened if Ruth would not have insisted on going with Naomi back to the promised land? What if she would have turned away as her sister-in-law did? What if she would have gone with Orpha back to her homeland? It was vital that Ruth go with Naomi into that land to meet Boaz, to have Obed. And then from there came Jesse, came King David, all the way up to the lineage of Jesus Christ. I may have missed a few people along the way. Please forgive me, I'm going off memory, but you can find all of this in the Word of God. What wonderful stories, what awesome spiritual strength we can glean from. See why it's important to read the Word of God, to study, to show yourself approved, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Praise God. And then you run across stories like Samson. Samson was mighty in strength, and God used him, and he fell prey to the enemy to Delilah. He went to sleep in her lap, he told her his secret, the strength is in the hair. She cut the hair, she deceived him. And then you find him grinding at the mill in the prison. You find his eyes plucked out, you find his hair shaved. But God had great mercy when he called out unto the Lord again. And it the Bible says and his hair began to grow, and his strength came back in him, and at his death he killed more, when he had the lad put his hands on the pillars, and he caved in that big cathedral, whatever it was there when all them people were there, all the enemy. He destroyed more at his death than in his lifetime. The mercy of God had fell on him again. It's never too late to come back to the Lord. If there is breath, there is hope. And grab a hold of that hope with a death grip. I would like to go on and on about all these wonderful stories in the Bible. They are so fascinating, and they are for our benefit, for our good. But for the sake of time, I'm going to get ready to hop off here. I want to thank you so very much for joining me today. And my goal today was hopefully to help uplift a lonely heart. We all go through these things. Be encouraged today that you are not alone. And do not withdraw yourself from the people around you because that's what the enemy wants you to do, and don't let that happen. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God. That way you will be able to withstand in this time, in this hour, in this day. God bless you, friends. Until next time. Bye bye.