ABC Scripture Challenge {Word #12}, Lonely

Challenge Word #12: Lonely

Lonely. Have you ever felt truly lonely? Take a moment and remember what it felt like. Could it be that you were walking through a difficult time and felt alone? Could it be you were isolated, out of work, sick and in a hospital, an empty-nester, etc., and felt all alone? There are many reasons we may feel lonely at different times in our lives, and feeling lonely does not have to mean we are actually alone. We could be surrounded by many people yet still feel that way. Have you ever felt like crying out Psalm 38:21 “LORD, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God.”

As you thought about how you felt when being at a lonely point in your life, now let’s think about how Jesus felt on the cross. As Jesus hung on that cross, darkness overcame all the land (Matthew 27:45). Even God could not look at His Son as He carried all of our sins. Jesus must have felt extremely lonely. Probably more lonely than any of us have ever experienced or can even imagine. Sin separates us from God. But as we confess our sins each day, we can approach our Holy God. He will never leave us or forsake us. With God, we will never be truly lonely. Joshua 1:9 says “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” He is with us where ever we go and whatever we are going through! He is there. Call out to Him. Jeremiah 33:3a says “Call to me and I will answer you . . .” He knows how you feel. He knows what you are going through. He is truly the only one that can fill those lonely places in our hearts. He is always there and always will be. Will you reach out to Him today?

And if you are not at a lonely point in your life right now, praise God for that. But also realize there are lonely people around you. A smile, a card, a hug, or even a kind word can share the love of Christ and help someone in that lonely place in their life. How might you be able to help relieve someone else’s loneliness today?

For my page today, I used the June sketch from Crafting Life's Pieces. Love the sketch, and I love what the designers did with the sketch. I also used two great scriptures for my page from the ODBD sets Scripture Collection 5 (for Jeremiah 33:3) and Scripture Collection 7 (for Psalm 9:10). The papers are from the Basic Grey Hello Luscious collection. :)

Papers: Basic Grey Hello Luscious, Paper Trey Ink cs
Our Daily Bread Designs Stamps: Scripture Collection 5, Scripture Collection 7
Stamp Ink: Archival Ink library green
Paints: Adirondack Paint Dabber snow cap, Tim Holtz Distress Stain walnut stain (for tag), Glimmer Mist sand (for lace)
Embellishments: Recollections brad, hand-dyed seam binding, old hymnal pages, Inkssentials craft tag, lace from A Million Memories, flowers and leaves from Wild Orchid Crafts, Basic Grey Piper chip alpha

As you share your pages, please be sure to use Keyword ABCSCRC11 when posting your creations in any online galleries. Also, please leave a link to your creation here using Inlinkz! To see all of our previous lessons, please visit this post here. I pray that you will take a moment each day this week to call out to our precious Lord or to search for those lonely people around you! Have a blessed time of study and week ahead,