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<\/a>My husband and I decided to run out to grab a bite to eat. So we bundled up and headed out. We rarely go to fast food joints, but we had heard of a sandwich we wanted to try.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We pulled into this local burger place and there were only two other cars in the parking lot, obviously belonging to the restaurant staff. There were no patrons in the restaurant except us. It was us and us alone.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After we ordered, the young man gave us a little number to place on our table and he said he would bring our food out. As we sat down, I chuckled and said, \u201cDo you think he would have trouble finding us?\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was a quiet dinner.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Do you ever feel lonely? I know that I do. Especially when I\u2019m shut away from friends or fellow believers due to weather conditions. Someone mentioned recently how young mothers feel isolated when their children are ill. Loneliness can be an issue and we need to keep our eyes open for those who are lonely and then act.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So what are we to do when we feel lonely?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I believe it might be an opportunity to draw closer to God. Being holed up in my home for days on end are difficult for me, but pulling out God\u2019s Word to read or a Bible study to work on draws me out of loneliness. Prayer time enriches my life. Meditation on God\u2019s words allows God to work on and through me. God will always be my closest Companion. I pray you can say the same.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I also believe we have been given technology to keep us from becoming too lonely and isolated. Phones, computers, email, Facebook, and many more advances will keep us connected with others and stop the symptoms of loneliness. Pick up that phone and call a special friend. Check to see what family and friends are up to. Don\u2019t isolate yourself emotionally just because you must be isolated physically.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If you are feeling lonely today, I offer some of God\u2019s Word to encourage you. I pray they will lead and guide you to reach out to offset that feeling of loneliness.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe news about him<\/em> (Jesus) spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.\u201d <\/em>(Luke 5:15-16 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTurn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 25:16 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.\u201d<\/em> (1Timothy 5:5 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.\u201d<\/em> (John 15:18 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.\u201d<\/em> (Matthew 18:20b \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.\u201d<\/em> (John 14:5 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.<\/em><\/p>\n He makes me lie down in green pastures,<\/em><\/p>\n He leads me beside quiet waters,<\/em><\/p>\n He restores my soul.<\/em><\/p>\n He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name\u2019s sake.<\/em><\/p>\n Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,<\/em><\/p>\n I will fear no evil, for you are with me;<\/em><\/p>\n Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.<\/em><\/p>\n You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.<\/em><\/p>\n You anoint my head with oil;<\/em><\/p>\n My cup overflows.<\/em><\/p>\n Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,<\/em><\/p>\n And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 23 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Please remember, God will never have trouble finding you!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The past few days have been amazing! We\u2019ve had snow, blizzard conditions, sunshine, a snow moon, cold temperatures and some beautiful scenery. However, with all the blowing snow and cold, I opted to stay indoors. I had remained indoors since last Friday\u2026until last night. My husband and I decided to run out to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3762,22,296,13,16,15,3770,14],"tags":[4991,4965,4989,4986,4994,4992,4988,2369,4993,267,4990,4987,1855],"class_list":["post-5128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-abide","category-believing-god","category-experiencing-god","category-finding-god","category-following-god","category-knowing-god","category-listen","category-seeking-god","tag-1-timothy-55","tag-blizzard","tag-draw-closer-to-god","tag-its-cold-outside-sabbatical-post","tag-john-145","tag-john-1518","tag-lonely","tag-luke-101-24","tag-matthew-1820","tag-psalm-23","tag-psalm-2516","tag-sunshine","tag-winter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5128"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5129,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5128\/revisions\/5129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}