Joyce Meyer - Straight Talk on Loneliness: Overcoming Emotional Battles with the Power of Gods Word!

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Amplified Bible (amp). The Amplified Bible, Old Testament, copyright 1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified Bible, New Testament, copyright 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from The New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Originally published as Help Me Im Alone.

Warner Books Edition

Copyright 1998 by Joyce Meyer

Life In The Word, Inc.

P.O. Box 655

Fenton, Missouri 63026

All rights reserved.

Hachette Book Group, 237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Visit our Web site at www.HachetteBookGroup.com

The Warner Books name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

First eBook Edition: February 2003

ISBN: 978-0-446-55641-5

A major problem facing people today is grief and loneliness. The two often go together because many people grieve over being lonely.

Loneliness has become even more of a major issue than in the past. In my ministry, an increasing number of people request prayer for guidance and help in handling loneliness.

In His Word, God tells us we are not alone. He wants to deliver, comfort and heal us. But when people encounter painful major losses in their lives, sadly, many never get over them. When tragedy occurs, and the hurt seems unbearable, Satan sees it as an opportunity to attempt to bring an individual or a family into permanent bondage.

The death of a loved one, divorce or the severing of a close relationship can bring grief, and most people go through a grieving process. A key to victory is in understanding the difference between a normal, balanced grieving process and a spirit of grief. One helps the grieving person recover from the loss with the passing of time; the other causes him to grow worse and sink deeper into despair.

I believe one of the reasons why people, especially Christians, become bound by grief and loneliness following a loss is due to a lack of understanding about the grieving process. Sometimes when God heals, the result is instant. But more often, especially when recovering from a loss, the healing is a process through which the Lord walks His children step by step. Obviously, all people do not respond to a loss in the same way or in the same degree, but we all do have emotions that can be wounded and bruised and must be healed.

Jesus came to earth to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and to give us abundant life (John 10:10)! If we will learn how to receive what He has made available to us, we will experience that abundant life free from grief and loneliness.

God delivered me from the bondage of grief and loneliness, and I believe He will use the step-by-step process in this book to help you find release also!

NEVER FORSAKEN

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.

Matthew 28:18,20 KJV

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindnesstrusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.

Psalm 91:1416

God wants you to know that you are not alone. Satan wants you to believe you are all alone, but you are not. He wants you to believe that no one understands how you feel, but that is not true.

In addition to God being with you, many believers know how you feel and understand what you are experiencing mentally and emotionally. Psalm 34:19 tells us: Many evils confront the [consistently] righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. There are many accounts in the Bible of the afflictions of the righteous (KJV) and the Lords deliverance from them.

God Is a Deliverer

God delivered Paul and Silas from prison. (Acts 16: 2326.)

In 1 Samuel 17:37 we read of the Lord delivering David from afflictions. David said, the Lord Who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord be with you!

When you are making progress, Satan often brings affliction to discourage you and will try to make you feel alone. But what Satan intends for our harm, God will work to our good. (See Genesis 50:20.) You can do as David did in the Scripture above and encourage yourself by remembering past victories.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego experienced affliction when they remained firm in their commitment to the one true God. (Daniel 3:1030.) When they refused the command of the wicked king Nebuchadnezzar to worship the golden image he had set up, Nebuchadnezzar cast them into the fiery furnace which he heated seven times hotter than usual!

Nebuchadnezzar was astounded (v. 24) to see that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego met a fourth man in their fiery furnaceOne Who was like the Son of God (v. 25 KJV). Not only did the three come out of the furnace totally unharmedthey didnt even smell like smoke! (v. 27.)

Verse 30 tell us the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. God will not only bring you out of your afflictions, but He will also bring you up!

Daniel was also afflicted. As punishment for his integrity and commitment to God, Daniel was placed into a lions den. But Daniel chose to trust in God, and God delivered him by sending an angel to shut the lions mouths. Daniel came out unharmed! (Daniel 6:323.) Keep your trust in God, and you will come out unharmed.

All of these people found that God was faithful. I have also experienced His goodness and faithfulness. I was abused sexually, mentally and emotionally as a child. I have been sick during my life which included ten years of migraine headaches and an attack of cancer as well as several more minor, but nonetheless painful and distressing ailments. In each case God delivered me and provided answers. But there was a time of waiting on God and being steadfast.

First Peter 5:8,9 states:

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onsetrooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world.

As we have seen, afflictions come upon all of us. We all experience a certain amount of grief and loneliness in this life from time to time, but we are not alone. The Bible tells us to resist the devil: resist him steadfast in the faith (v. 9 KJV). But we can also draw strength from knowing that others know how we feel.

God Is Working for Our Good

God is good, and He is faithful. Several years ago I encountered a major emotional shock that separated me from many people and things very dear to me. God wanted me to move on, but I was not obeying Him. God was working for my good, even though I could not see the good at the time. When I would not move, God moved me and some of the people in my life. I realize now that it was one of the best things that ever happened to me, but at the time I thought my whole world was falling apart. I wasnt sure I would ever recover.