The Loneliness of Opposition
by Rick Warren
At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength …. 2 Timothy 4:16-17 (NIV)
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Opposition causes loneliness. When you’re attacked, when you’re ridiculed, when you’re criticized, you feel isolated and lonely.
One minute you’re a hero, the next, you’re the zero! That can be lonely. You might be lonely when you go through a painful experience that no one else seems to understand. Or, you might be lonely when you’re going through grief while every one else seems to be having fun. You might be lonely when you’re misunderstood, or embarrassed, or criticized.
How do you overcome this kind of loneliness?
Paralyzed or Positive?
Loneliness tends to paralyze, so think of a creative way to turn the situation into something positive. If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Make the best of a bad situation.
Paul was lonely when he was in prison. He says, “No one came to my support, but everyone deserted me” (2 Timothy
But think about this: Paul was a people person; he probably would’ve preferred traveling the Mediterranean region, preaching Christ and starting churches. But he was stuck in prison and lonely, and as a result, we have many of his letters that now appear in the New Testament. It might be that putting Paul in jail was the only way to get him to sit still long enough to write those New Testament letters.
Resist Resentment
If you get bitter and stew about those who oppose you, you’ll only get lonelier. It builds walls around your life that keep people away from you. And building walls puts you in danger of becoming cynical or resentful, and that often pushes other people away from you.
If you’re lonely right now, what does God have to say to you?
I think God could say, “I understand how you feel!” The Bible says Jesus was tempted just like us, yet he did not sin. Jesus understood every human emotion, and there were times when he was lonely and abandoned. For instance, knowing the next day he’d be crucified, Jesus took three of his best friends – Peter, James, and John – with him to pray in the
If you’re lonely right now, then share your loneliness with Jesus. He knows what you’re going through and he understands.
The Loneliness of Rejection
by Rick Warren
But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 2 Timothy
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Loneliness often comes from the feeling that you’ve been betrayed, deserted, or abandoned. Paul felt deserted when he first went on trial in
Here’s one of the greatest Christians in history, but no one came to his support! He says, “But everyone deserted me.” He’s on trial for his life; no one comes to speak for his defense.
Yet, Paul didn’t say, “I’ve spent thirty years in the ministry and this is what I get?” No, instead he said, “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Timothy
Rejection is often the most devastating form of hurt. The Bible teaches that we have emotional needs and one of our greatest emotional needs is to be accepted.
Loneliness is so painful that people will try anything to relieve it. They take drugs, they get drunk. They go through long lists of short-lived dating relationships. They coop themselves up in their homes with the TV as their only friend.
So where is God when you’re lonely?
He’s right there with you – No matter where you go, God’s presence is with you. Sitting in prison, Paul wrote, “The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength.”
God says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).
The Loneliness of Separation
by Rick Warren
Only Luke is with me. 2 Timothy
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Separation causes loneliness. In prison, awaiting execution, Paul feels isolated from those he loves. He asks his protégé Timothy to visit, “Do your best to come to me quickly” (2 Timothy 4:9, NIV).
Paul later mentions some of his friends, such as Priscilla,
He is feeling the loneliness of separation. Paul never went anywhere alone; he always had at least one traveling companion. Yet, here at the end of his life, he’s in prison in a foreign country and he can’t just pick up the phone and reach out and touch somebody.
In the United Sates, twenty-five percent of the population moves in any given year. Many of us have lost our roots, or never had any to begin with, and that can cause loneliness. We can experience the loneliness of separation because of military service, or a career, or an illness.
What can you do about your loneliness from separation?
Focus on the needs of others – Get your eyes off yourself and focus outward. Look at how you can serve other people. Paul focused on telling more people about Jesus: “But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it” (2 Timothy
Focus on your purpose – Even when Paul was isolated in a prison, he wanted other people to know about Jesus. He wanted everybody to know about God’s love. He stopped looking at himself and he looked at how he could still tell others about the good news.
When you’re lonely – Stop building walls and start building bridges! Instead of saying, “I’m so lonely,” say, “Father, help me be a friend to people who need a friend. Help me to help lonely people.” That is the antidote for loneliness.
Fear & Grace
by Rick Warren
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6 (NLT)
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God is watching over you.
When King David writes, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me,” he’s not saying, “Surely only good things will happen to me!”
The fact is bad things happen to good people. What David is teaching us is that God can take bad, evil, and difficult situations and bring something good out of them.
It’s one of God’s great promises to us: we can know that all things are working for our good “if we love God and are fitting into his plans” (Romans 8:28 LB). If you’re a believer, the Bible says all things are working together for good – not that all things are good, but that they work together for good. There’s no difficulty, dilemma, defeat, or disaster in life that God can’t ultimately turn toward good.
When you understand God’s grace and mercy, there’s no need to fear the future. God isn’t trying to get even with you. Jesus shouldered the penalty for everything you’ve ever done wrong or will do wrong. He paid for it on the cross. So when a bad thing happens, you don’t have to think, “God’s getting even with me.” That’s how God’s grace and mercy work.
Mercy, like goodness, follows us in life. Picture a parent following a little child around picking up after them; God is constantly picking up our messes.
Think about this:
· Christians go to the future, not with a question mark, but with an exclamation point. God will be with you no matter what happens. He will help you out.
· God’s goodness provides and protects;God’s mercy pardons and forgives. God’s goodness will supply; God’s mercy will sooth. God’s goodness will help; God’s mercy will heal.
· Goodness is the fact that God gives us good things in life that we don’t deserve.Mercy means God holds back the condemnation we deserve.
Resisting Discouragement
by Rick Warren
So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. Galatians 6:9 (NLT)
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There are many things that work to keep us from completing our life-missions. Over the years, I’ve debated whether the worst enemy is procrastination or discouragement. If Satan can’t get us to put off our life missions, then he’ll try to get us to quit altogether.
The apostle Paul teaches that we need to resist discouragement: “So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up …” (Galatians 6:9 NLT).
Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? I think we all do. Sometimes it seems easier to do the wrong thing than the right thing.
When we’re discouraged, we become ineffective. When we’re discouraged, we work against our own faith.
When I’m discouraged, I’m saying, “It can’t be done.” That’s the exact opposite of saying, “I know God can do it because he said ….”
Ask yourself these questions:
· How do I handle failure?
· When things don’t go my way, do I get grumpy?
· When things don’t go my way, do I get frustrated?
· When things don’t go my way, do I start complaining?
· Do I finish what I start?
· How would I rate on persistence?
If you’re discouraged, don’t give up without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy.
When an artist starts to create a sculpture, he has to keep chipping away. He doesn’t hit the chisel with the hammer once, and suddenly all the excess stone falls away revealing a beautiful masterpiece. He keeps hitting it and hitting it, chipping away at the stone.
And that’s true of life, too: Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it, and little-by-little your life becomes a masterpiece of God’s grace.
The fact is, great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. Great people don’t know how to quit.
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