Bible: 5 Poetic Books

Lesson 4: The Book of Psalms, part two: Passionate, but not Positive!

Loneliness

Let's face it: no man is an island. People need people. If you are friendless, loneliness can be your worst enemy. Left to dwell on our own negative thoughts and emotions, we sink deeper and deeper into the isolation, the separation we feel from others. This emotion is strongly expressed in Psalms as well. In Psalm 25, David confesses to feeling lonely:

15 My eyes are ever on the LORD , for only he will release my feet from the snare.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. 18 Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.

[Look at the strength of the language here--loneliness leads to "troubles", "anguish", "affliction" and "distress", not to mention "sins"!]

19 See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! 20 Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame,

[At times, it may feel like we're being attacked from all sides. We have no one left supporting us, no one to confide in. But when we are weak, then we are strong. Why? Just look at the next line of this psalm:]

for I take refuge in you.

21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.

As reinforcement of that point, let's take a look at part of Psalm 91:

5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling- even the LORD , who is my refuge- 10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

[Do verses 11 and 12 sound familiar? They're the verses Satan was referring to when he attempted to tempt Jesus. Fortunately for us, Jesus knew that no one should test God or put Him in a box. He was tempted (it's no sin to be tempted), but his faith in God helped him resist. When you are tempted, don’t “beat yourself up for being tempted;" just turn away from the temptation towards God for help. ]

Don't underestimate the power of loneliness. As we saw with the earlier psalm, it has the power to destroy.

Sounds like a title to me:

THE POWER OF LONELINESS

Can you write the poem that goes along with it?

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