discouraged Archives - Jackie M. Johnson

Feeling Lonely? Here’s Hope

Feeling lonely? Isolated?

Many people are, especially in this (dare I say) “unprecedented” time of the COVID-19 virus we’re living in across the globe.

Still.

It’s been many months and we are continuing to be told to stay home as much as possible, social distance from people in public, and avoid close contact.

The loneliness thing is even more difficult for those who live alone. If you are working at home (like many of us are) and live alone, it can feel empty. You miss handshakes and hugs and the joy of face-to-face conversation.

And the weeks are dragging on.

I get it.

The truth is, we were created for connection and relationships of all kinds. Love and friendship are vital to our emotional well-being.

So, what can you do during this crisis to feel less alone and more connected?

First, connect with God. Make your primary connection an ongoing and connected relationship with the One who loves you most.

I want to encourage you to press in to the relationship you have with God. He wants to know you—and for you to know Him—just as you would a close friend.

He longs to love and guide you through this hard and messy life. Make time to “seek His face” (who He is), not just his hands (what He can do for you).

Creator of all, our good God is faithful and true, loving and just, compassionate and kind. He is strong and mighty. Trust Him with your heart, tell Him all you long for, and believe He will see you through.

Through prayer and talking with God, we can have the most meaningful connection possible.

• Prayer is a holy conversation of both speaking and listening with God. He knows you better than you know yourself. In fact, He created you! So your words don’t have to be perfect or rehearsed, just real and from your heart. Pray and talk with God about your feelings and fears. Even when you feel lonely. There’s a helpful prayer below you can pray. When you know God, you are never alone. Today, ask God to make His presence real to you.

• Remember Who is in control. It’s important to remember that God is bigger than this crisis. He is sovereign and in control. Remember His mercy. His power and strength. His comfort and unconditional love for you.

• Get out the Good Book. Turn off the TV news once in a while, and pull out your Bible. Take time to read it more than you usually do, and in doing so you will be saturating yourself with God’s powerful Word. The truths in the Bible never return empty, but accomplish God’s purposes. (Isaiah 55:11)

• Use this time wisely. Get a journal or notebook (or device) and write down what God is teaching you during this time. Consider and journal these questions: What needs to change in your life? How can you pray for others? What is on God’s heart for such a time as this?

Then, connect with others in virtual community. Our women’s Bible study has been meeting on Zoom every Wednesday night. You can make a plan to have virtual visits to connect with family or friends, too. Sure, it’s not the same as in-person time, but it sure helps to have some sort of human interaction—even on a computer or phone screen.

If you don’t have virtual connection capabilities, you can phone or text a friend.

And, depending upon where you live, you can actually get together with people in person and connect. (But you may still need to wear a mask (a face covering) in many places.)

By reaching out to someone, and connecting, you could be the answer to someone else’s prayer. Your friend may be feeling lonely too, and you could brighten her day with a call to check in, a simple text, or the promise of a future time to get together.

Here’s a powerful prayer you can pray when you feel lonely:

“Lord, I have this lonely ache inside of me. I feel so isolated. And sometimes I am afraid. I long to connect with others, but right now it’s challenging. It’s difficult to be alone so much–or not connecting with others as often.

Yet, I take comfort that you are bigger than this crisis. I thank You, Lord, that You are always near. When Your presence is with me, I am never really alone.

Will you help me to choose FAITH over fear? To be aware and not afraid? And to TRUST that You are in control even when I don’t always see it or feel it?

Saturate my heart, soul and mind with Your unchanging truths because the TRUTH will set me free.

Thank you for being my protector, my provider, and my strong peace. I choose to trust You. I pray believing. In Jesus’ mighty and powerful name. Amen.”

Amen! Be at peace.

For more hope and inspiration, check out these books by Jackie M. Johnson:

Praying with Power When Life Gets Tough

Power Prayers for Women

Prayers with Purpose for Women

When Love Ends and the Ice Cream Carton Is Empty

By Jackie M. Johnson

Discouraged? 4 Vital Ways to Stand Strong When You Feel Like Giving Up

Life can be challenging. No matter what your age or life stage, we all get discouraged.

Whether you’re stressed from too much work, or anxious because you lost your job, you may feel depleted. Maybe you’re wiped out from caring for kids or aging parents all day–or you’re lonely because you just moved across the country and don’t know anyone yet. Either way, we all have times when we feel like giving up.

How do you press on when you just don’t have it in you? How do you stand strong in challenging times?

You need a solid foundation.

When a skyscraper is under construction, workers first dig a foundation and then pound steel reinforcing rods called pylons deep into the earth so the building will stand tall and not tumble.

Then, concrete is poured into the shaft with the pylons for a super-strong hold.

The same can be true as you build a “foundation” in your own life—as you grow deeper, you grow stronger in your faith. As you immerse yourself in the ways and wisdom of God, the reinforced truth, like pylons of

Hope,

Trust,

Courage, and

Faith,

help you become stronger on the inside.

So when you’re discouraged, and your life is spiraling downward, you will be able to withstand more readily the gale-force winds of hard times and pain because your inner foundation is deep and strong.

Steel upon steel, story upon story a structure is built.

Likewise, God’s Word tells us that hope comes step by step as “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. (Romans 5:3, 4)

So, how do you press on when times are tough? Here are four (4) vital things to help you persevere with God’s strength:

1) Cast your cares. Don’t take on burdens you were never meant to bear—like worry, fear and doubt. They’ll weigh you down and hinder you from being effective.

Instead, give God your fears; surrender trying to do it all on your own to Him. In other words, like a fishing line, “cast your cares, and don’t reel them back in again.” Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”

2) Press on in prayer. Prayer is the foundation upon which everything else is built in your life. It the most important thing you can do. You may think, “I’ve already prayed, what other solutions are there?” Keep on praying.

Talk to God about your situation, because He is the one who has the power to change it. As you pray, believe God is working and stand in the strength you receive.

3) Send in reinforcements. Sometimes you need backup. It’s amazing what happens when you receive support in prayer from friends and family members who are willing to pray for you and with you.

When you don’t know what to pray, when you’re spent emotionally or physically, or, like Moses, when you need someone to “hold up your arms” (to support you), the prayers of others on your behalf can give you a boost to keep going.

4) Take action. Taking one small step can lead to another and another and it builds momentum, and things begin to change. You will not be in this hard place forever. God will help you through. Unlike others who may have let you down, God keeps His promises. When you take action in prayer, God moves on your behalf.

Perseverance takes courage. Believe that God hears your prayers; He sees your tears, and He is at work in your life.

There are still purposes to be fulfilled—lives to touch, things to accomplish, and character to be formed on the inside.

Press on, pray on, with holy tenacity, holding on to hope that one day—maybe soon—things will change for the better: the check will come, the job will be yours, or the house will be filled with a child’s laughter.

Today, we pray and trust Him.

RESOURCES

For more hope and inspiration, check out these books by Jackie M. Johnson: