We need not be lonely

In a survey on loneliness that appeared in the Jan. 31, 2020, Minneapolis Post, Susan Perry reported how 61% of Americans admit to being lonely at least part of the time. Among cities that report on the loneliness of their citizens, London, England, is at the very top.

When Holly Cooke took a job in London, she eventually acknowledged how her weekends were miserable because she was lonely. On June 18, 2024, “Our Daily Bread” described how she organized a social media group called The London Lonely Girls Club, which grew to 35,000 participants. Members organized small group meetups and planned activities like picnics in the park, art lessons, jewelry workshops, dinners, and even exercise sessions with puppies to combat their loneliness.

Loneliness has been an issue for many years; 25-year-old Joseph Striven was overcome with grief when his fiancée’s lifeless body was pulled from a lake the day before they were to be married.

Ten years later, he sent his mother an encouraging poem. She shared it with a friend who anonymously published it as a song and though no one knew who the author was, it eventually became one of our most famous hymns.

Striven eventually fell in love with Eliza Roche, but tragedy struck again when his second fiancée also died before they could marry.

Despite his losses, the unknown hymn writer did not feel alone. He focused on his relationship with God and devoted his life to caring for those in need. Few knew he had written, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” until shortly before his death, when a neighbor helping care for him discovered a handwritten copy of his song with these familiar words, “Have we trials and temptations, Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.”

Although written nearly 170 years ago, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” is amazingly applicable today. The truth that God can help us with our loneliness goes back much further. In scripture, David described loneliness when he wrote, “Father to the fatherless, defender of widows – this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy…” (Psalm 68:5-6, NLT)

God provides us with the cure for loneliness by offering us a deep connection to himself. Whether King David in ancient times, Joseph Striven in the 1800s, Holly Cooke in London, or you and me today, God offers us a meaningful connection with himself.