I have come across my fair share of people in recent years who have talked about wanting someone special in their lives. Every one of them is a great person with plenty to offer, and yet they still find themselves with feelings of loneliness.

What is Loneliness?

Just a few weeks ago, I got a late night phone call from a friend who just wanted someone to talk to because they were feeling lonely. Truth be told, I go through bouts of loneliness too. And let’s be clear, it’s not necessarily about how many people are around you. There are plenty of people who are in relationships, and they still consider themselves lonely. Loneliness is a feeling ­­– a feeling of isolation. The ironic part about it is that even as our world continues inventing thing to allow for us to be more connected, we continue to see signs that people feel isolated and lonely. I live with both of my parents, and I keep an active schedule with plenty of socializing with friends and at church. Nevertheless, I still sometimes find myself a bit melancholy and lonely from time to time.

But when talking to my friend, my biggest concern arose from a comment and question they asked: “I’ve never heard churches talk about loneliness. Does your church talk about loneliness, Michelle?” Honestly, I was kind of taken aback by the question. Perhaps that’s because I really didn’t have an answer. My friend and I went on to discuss the “typical” response of “just pray about it,” but really we were both looking for something a bit more tangible.

What Does God Say?

Over the following weeks, I found myself thinking about this concept of loneliness, and I began to wonder what God had to say about it. I know with everything in me that God cares about everything that concerns our hearts and that He wants to be a part of every area of our lives. That all being said, you can’t imagine the look on my face one evening when I was doing my homework for a Survey of the Old Testament class I’m taking through my church and read, “God understands that we need human interaction as well.” This was what I needed to hear (read). Let me explain…

It only makes sense that we would begin our study in Genesis, and of course that includes the Creation Story. Everything that I needed really hinged on Genesis 2:18 “It is not good for man to be alone.” These are God’s words, so it shows that it’s not healthy for us to live in isolation.  But there was something that I had never thought of before we began this study.

At this point, Adam was living in a literal paradise. Lush greens and beautiful animals surrounded him. He had a perfect relationship with God. And even with that, God was aware of the FACT that Adam (and all of us) require relationships with other humans in order to be our best selves (Longman p 18).

God Sees You!

Don’t for a moment think that God doesn’t see your situation. You may or may not be familiar with a woman named Hagar. Even after following directions, she found herself in what seemed like an impossible situation. Hagar was the maid of Sarai (later renamed Sarah) who was married to Abram (later named Abraham). God had told Abram that He would make him a great nation and that His covenant would between Abram and his descents as well. The only problem was that Abram didn’t have any descendants at the time. As such, Abram and his wife took things into their own hands (we’ll discuss this in a separate post later!) Long story short, Sarai gave her maid, Hagar, to Abram as a wife in order for them to have a baby. Of course things continued to go even further left, and finally Hagar runs away.

It was when she was alone and in the desert that the angel of the Lord came to Sarai. He saw her, and He comforted her in truth. And it was in this same moment that Hagar gave God the name El Roi saying, “You are the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).

Loneliness is a real thing, but so is God. He sits high in heaven, but He also looks low on the earth in order to be near to our hearts. The truth is that God sees us in our loneliness, and He meets us right there in the midst of it with encouragement, direction, and hope. He may have made the first move in seeing us, but it is up to us to respond. He sees us, but we must also be like Hagar and see Him too as she says, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” So, in our seasons of loneliness, it would serve us well to look to the One who sees us. It is when we truly see God that we are able to realize that we are not as lonely as we feel, simply because He is with us, “even to the very end of the age” (Mathew 28:20).