Great men and women of the faith get lonely too. You are not alone. Let your friend know that she also is never alone.

Yesterday I shared five practical solutions to loneliness. In case you missed it, you can read it here.

Keep these solutions in mind as we peek into the life of the apostle Paul as he neared the end of his days on earth.

Was this apostle zealous? Oh, yeah.

Crazy in love with Jesus? Yep.

Lonely? At times. We can learn a lot about dealing with our own loneliness from Paul, a convert to Christianity who proclaimed Jesus EVERYWHERE.

A couple shipwrecks, a bunch of beatings, a few imprisonments, Paul persevered — a bounce to his step — then near his end, he felt lonely.

Deserted by trusted friends, he wrote personal words to Timothy. Listen between the lines to his hurt. The italics are 2 Timothy 4:9-16.

“Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.”

In contrast to to Paul’s eternal perspective, Demas looked to worldly pleasures to satisfy. How often do I do the same? How often do you?

“Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.”

Two more men leave Paul. Have you ever felt abandoned? I think we all have. No fun.

Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.”

Paul has Luke with him. Only Luke. He needs the comfort of others. Just like me and you.

“When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.”

How telling. Paul is cold and wants his coat. What’s more, he requests his writing materials and quite possibly a copy of the Old Testament in Greek. Even nearing death, he desired to continue to work for the sake of the gospel. No retirement for him.

“Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.  At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.”

This man is causing trouble. Paul looks to God to avenge. What about you? When a friend, coworker, employer or family member causes you trouble, what is your reaction? What is mine? Is it in line with God’s desires for me. . .

. . .to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. . .

and to love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37,39)

 

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