No One Cares

I was there in the kitchen when Annette’s mom took a massive stroke. One moment, she was laughing and smiling; the next, she had a strange look on her face and her eyes seemed out of control. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time. It was during Annette’s 10th birthday party, when everyone was supposed to be happy and joyful. I remember that within minutes all the kids at the party were ushered upstairs out of the way. We soon heard the sirens of the paramedics, and then about half an hour later, we were all sent home.

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For the next seven days, we all prayed for Annette and her mother. And then came the news that Annette’s mom had died. It was the very first time that death had ever touched our generation.

Annette changed after the funeral. Before, she had been a happy person with beautiful sparkling green eyes that I still remember to this day. She became quiet and withdrawn, and those lovely eyes looked hollow and lifeless. None of us knew what to do or say. We were too young to understand and too helpless to reach out.

Bible verse for today
Psalm 142:4 Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.

Annette drifted for a while and grief struck her very hard. I guess she must have thought that no one cared for her life, or that no one was concerned for her. I cannot imagine what she endured during her teenage years, and I’m sure that she still dreads each year when her birthday comes around. Wherever she is today, I hope and pray that she has found the love that she lost, and that her bonnie emerald eyes sparkle with joy again.

There are times in each of our lives when we feel isolated and alone, insecure and vulnerable. During those painful and petrifying moments, God holds on to us, especially when we begin to lose our grip of Him. No matter what we endure or experience, God is there to love and support us, just waiting to guide and embrace us when we are ready to receive Him again.

Prayer: Lord God, today we pray for lonely hearts and sad eyes. We prayerfully ask that You touch those whose lives are wounded by loss and grief. Surround them with people who care, and concerned friends. Help them in the midst of their fears and foes, their despair and depression. In Your Holy Name, we sincerely pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the Scottish pastor at Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

If you would like to comment on this message, he would love to hear from you. Just email John at pastor@erinpresbyterian.org

Only the Lonely

John 16: 32 "But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. (NIV)

Loneliness is something that afflicts every one of us from time to time. There are moments in our lives when we feel vulnerable, isolated, and even alienated from our friends and families, as well as the people around us. Each person has to get through life as best as she or he can. Every one of us goes through this journey we call life uniquely and individually.

Sometimes our loneliness is caused by our actions. We paint ourselves into a corner through making the wrong choices. At other times, we are fiercely independent, not willing to look for help or support from our friends or families. And then there are those occasions when we stand out against the crowd, believing in things that others don’t, or struggling to be different from the rest of society.

No matter what causes our loneliness, how we cope with it reveals our strengths and weaknesses, our characteristics and personality traits. For Jesus, loneliness meant speaking out against injustice, going against traditions, and preaching an unpopular message. His loneliness was brought on by remaining true to His calling and obeying God. It’s something that Paul would later describe as being true to oneself.

In recent weeks, I’ve come across people who think, act and do things differently from what I believe, say, and do. In the past, I’ve often dismissed them as being sad, weird, and disillusioned people. I’ve not credited them with the courage to be different. I’ve not respected their wishes to walk a different path. I’ve not recognized that God makes each of us unique with a different set of characteristics, personalities, and ideas. One such person is Ngia who writes the Wayside Pulpit blog. She has written about the loneliness of being a Progressive Christian. It is a remarkable statement of personal faith.

Loneliness can be a feeling of being unloved, but it can also be a calling to explore the unexplainable, to walk the unattainable, and to believe the untraditional. In other words, there are lessons to be learned, acquired and experienced in the lonely heart that hunts for meaning, purpose, and truth.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, loneliness is a part of life. We belong to many groups, societies, and organizations, but we are still individuals who experience existence in different ways. When we feel isolated and vulnerable, give us the perseverance to endure. When we feel that we are out on a limb, alone and all by ourselves, grant us the courage to sustain our thoughts, ideas, beliefs, and opinions. And when at last we walk through the valley of the shadow of death on our own, come near to us and take us by the hand. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

Acedia

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Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. (NIV)

I came across a new word the other day: acedia. It means ‘spiritual languor.’ I guess it’s like belief burnout or compassion fatigue. It’s when you lose your connection to God, His church or His people, and you end up feeling isolated, vulnerable, and maybe even abandoned.

It’s like being in a spiritual wilderness with no sense of direction, focus, or meaning. It’s a hard state to be in and a hard experience to endure. Souls can feel lost in acedia, but it seems to be an important part of our spiritual journey and Christian growth.

The Desert Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries experienced a lot of this, especially when they chose to be isolated from the rest of the Christian community. They went out into the desert to find themselves because they were too many distractions around them in the towns and cities where they lived. They found the peace and quiet, solace and tranquility they were looking for, but slowly and surely acedia wormed its way into their hearts and minds. For a time, their souls became depressed and their grasp of God weakened. Some of them went mad with despair, whilst others were overwhelmed with a spiritual malaise.

So, how did they overcome acedia? They kept on praying. They kept on meditating about God. They kept on reading the scriptures. And even although this was hard to do, they persevered; bringing their souls through that acediac wilderness to a realization of a new hope in God’s overflowing love through being reconnected to the Holy Spirit.

Perhaps, you are feeling the same acedia. Maybe you’ve felt disconnected to God for a while and have lost some of that peace, presence and spiritual strength you so desperately need at this time. You’re not alone, and others have walked that wilderness path before you. Keep praying. Keep reading. Keep persevering. You’ll one day discover that God still holds you in His hand and that He keeps pouring out His love to you day by day, hour by hour, second by second.

Prayer: Father God, sometimes we feel that we have lost our grasp of faith and that things are not the same. Sometimes we wonder if You are really there, or if we are really that important to You. As we struggle with acedia, keep on loving us. Continue to guide us by Your grace and lead us by Your love. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.