ManageYourEmotionsBook8.5x5.5_RevJULY.indd

Truth be told, I’ve struggled in this area throughout my minis- try. I wonder if I’m to blame if someone quits the church after years of faithful service. If someone seems more distant than usual, I think I may have offended them in some way. Destructive fallout- Like aforementioned jealousy, and oth- er emotions (to be discussed in chapters to follow), loneliness trig- gers devastative results, the first being physical breakdown. A study at a major hospital of patients who suffered heart attacks showed, “Forty percent . . . testified to being depressed or lonely a few days or weeks before the attack. Loneliness leads to “suicide, alcoholism, and a number of other serious health problems,” 20 as well as “fatigue, loss of appetite, or overeating.” 21 Emotional breakdown often invades the lonely too. “One survey showed that eighty percent of psychiatric patients sought help because of loneliness.” 22 Certainly, loneliness played a part in Saul’s mental demise previously mentioned. Finally, spiritual breakdown results from loneliness.At an especially difficult time in his life, David questioned, “How long, O Lord?Will you forget me forever? How long willYou hideYour face from me?” (Psalm 13:1).Tragically, many believers fall into that same pit of unbelief. Some believe the lie that “If I’m lonely, I must not have enough faith.” Others question God’s love, or like David, feel as though He has forgotten them. Let’s conclude on a positive note by analyzing two factors involved in managing loneliness. The first factor is establishing spiritual identity. Like Elijah, a victim of distorted thinking, David prayed from a cave, “Look to the right and see; For there is no one who regards me;There is no escape for me; Nor one cares for my soul.” Fortunately, he quickly rebounded by saying “I cried out to You, O Lord; I said, ‘You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living’” (Psalm 142:4,5). If you’ve received Christ as your Savior, you’re a Child of the King. God loves you and longs to hear from you. Meditate on this

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