Understanding loneliness and finding comfort in God’s unconditional love

Many of us face the problem of being lonely. Even though we may have many friends who know things about us, there are none who really know us.

As Paul Tournier has pointed out, “Each of us is in a state of tension between the need to reveal and the need to conceal ourselves. We have an urge to share our true feelings, but we fear that we shall become vulnerable, that we shall be rejected or criticized.” As a result, we are lonely; we hide ourselves behind a mask to protect ourselves from others seeing us as we really are.

If only we could see ourselves through the eyes of God, through the eyes of the One who sees everything we hide and yet loves us the most. As in the words of a song by the Bill Gaither Trio, “I am loved, I am loved, I am loved, I am loved, I am loved, I can risk loving you. For the One who knows me best loves me most.”

Loneliness can never be removed until we allow ourselves to be vulnerable and share our real selves. This can only happen when we realize that we are loved by the One who knows us best.

Pastor Chuck Herrington

Herrington Bethel Church