Alone but not Lonely

Last updated on: July 6, 2019 at 1:27 am by Paul Bane

Alone but not Lonely 2019-07-06T01:27:04-06:00 Paul Bane

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One of the best gifts you can present yourself is learning how to be alone but not lonely. I have experienced loneliness plenty of times in my life, but in silence and solitude with God, I have never felt alone.

It runs counterclockwise to the wisdom of the world that the practice of solitude and silence can quiet the mind so we can hear and discern Gods words of friendship to us. In the silence, we discover Gods presence is with us, and we are never alone.

Yahweh communicates in the creation account of Genesis it was not good for man to be alone and the scriptures describe an out of body experience where the flesh of Adam metamorphoses and Eve appears in her radiant beauty and persona. Since the time of creation, there was hope for companionship so that no one should ever experience the feeling of loneliness. However, throughout history humanity suffers the heartache of broken and failed relationships and the sense of being desperately alone much of the time.

The contemplative path is the journey of the interior life that understands that there is a pang of hunger in our soul that is never satisfied by anything of this world. The more we search and desire external things and have the expectation people will fill the emptiness of our souls the more significant the depths of the separation and loneliness we feel.

We search in vain like King Solomon for earthly pleasures to fill the treasure chest of our soul. He pursued whatever his eyes and heart desired, and we discover like him the riches of this world are boring imitations to the indwelling presence and love of God in our life.

However, paradoxically the loneliness we feel in the depths of our souls can propel and drive us to seek for a secret place or chamber in our heart for the presence of God to abide and dwell with us. It is a sacred space in the silence where we can let go and release our soul from the weights and trappings of the world and encounter the presence of Christ.

I encourage you to find a place you can shut the door to the outside world and pray to your Father in secret (Mathew 6:6). A place to cast all your cares and worries upon the one who is Divine love. Let the lover of your soul reach into the hidden and lonely places of your heart and speak peace and hope.

Please understand no one on earth has the power to free you from your loneliness except you. Listen for the voice of Christ in the silence, when you feel forsaken and let down by everyone, I am with you, and I am your advocate and friend. In the silence come to me and know that I will capture your heart and hold you in my firm grip.

Seek contentment in my presence because the more you crave the allure of the world, the more you distance yourself from the center of my being and love. You drift from my presence when you focus on the things you desire and pursue in the world. When you lose sight of me, you lose the awareness of your true identity of being united and one with me and everything in creation. When you live unaware of my love and spirit is when you feel most alone. I encourage you to experience moment by moment my presence alive in you, and I am with you always so you never have to be or feel alone again. Learn to be alone but not lonely.

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