26th March 2025
We can have confidence in Jesus to know our loneliness
Part of a series for Easter Preparation
Then [Jesus] returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?’
Matthew 26:40 (NIVUK)
Have you ever been to church and after a few minutes of the sermon found yourself nodding off? On the night Jesus was arrested he went to the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples, sat most of them down (Matthew 26:36) and took three of them to wait with him while he prayed (v.37). They only had one job to do: keep watch while Jesus prayed (v.38), but three times, according to Matthew’s account of the event, they fell asleep (vv.40, 43, 45). Despite the close proximity of his disciples Jesus faced the most harrowing night of his life alone.
Solitude, being away from the busyness and stresses of life, can be a positive thing. It can provide time for prayer, meditation and reflection, and an opportunity for our batteries to be recharged; throughout his ministry, Jesus took time to escape the crowds to be alone with his Father (Luke 5:16).
Loneliness, on the other hand, is where we feel left out of a group, no longer part of a circle of friends or family, and unsure where our next social interaction is going to come from. Being lonely can be a very dark and frightening place where we feel trapped on a downward spiral of despair and hopelessness.
Jesus knows what it means to go through times when his closest friends didn’t stand with him, as in Gethsemane, or abandoned him as he was arrested (Mark 14:50), times when even his family thought him to be mad (Mark 3:21). Jesus experienced loneliness.
This means that Jesus is not detached from us when we go through periods of loneliness, rather he is perfectly placed, not only to understand what we are going through, but to help us through it. Jesus has been there, and one of the greatest promises he gives us is that he will always be there for us, right to the end of this age (Matthew 28:20).
The presence of God in us, through the Spirit of Christ, means we are never truly alone. As we cultivate a relationship with him may he dispel our loneliness and assure us that we are indeed the beloved children of our Father in heaven (Romans 8:14-16).
Prayer
Loving Father, whenever we are feeling lonely and isolated, please remind us that we are never truly alone, and that you, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are always with us. Comfort our hearts and fill us with your peace, in Jesus’s name, Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church