All Things Made New

Abeo sat alone in his room. He heard laughing and talking coming from downstairs.

“Are they singing?†He laid back on his bed.

He’d told everyone that he wanted to be alone. He really wished that they would miss him down there, though. There was part of him that hoped someone would come up by him and insist that he join them.

The night went on and no one came to get him. None of his family’s guests came up to tell him goodbye before they left. Abeo stretched out on his bed, tears welling in his eyes. He was lonely when he was with people, but even lonelier when he was alone in his room. All he wanted was to be loved and to know that he was accepted.

Reading in Psalms the next day, Abeo could understand the pain of the psalmist and how he felt alone in the world. As the psalmist cried out to God, Abeo cried out right along with him. He wanted to feel God’s presence. And then, Abeo started to feel that God was there with him. He started to feel God’s love and compassion. Sitting by himself in his room, suddenly Abeo knew that he wasn’t alone. • Emily Acker

• Do you ever feel alone, even when others are around? In times of loneliness, God invites you to come to Him.

• God created us to be in relationship with Him and with each other. But when humans went their own way against God, our relationship with Him was broken. Because we live in a world that’s been broken by sin, we all experience loneliness and have difficulty navigating relationships. Yet God doesn’t leave us alone. He came for us. He took on flesh to dwell among us. Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us†(Matthew 1:23). Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has made a way for us to be restored to relationship with God. If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, you can know that you are loved and accepted by the One who Created you—and you are part of His family, the church! God calls His people to love and accept each other (Romans 15:7; 1 Peter 1:22). How might God be giving you opportunities to reach out to others who are lonely?

All my longings lie open before you, Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. Psalm 38:9 (NIV)

Read Verses:

Rom.8.18-Rom.8.30|Rev.21.1-Rev.21.7