Isaiah 41:10 — “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Loneliness. Even the sound creates a twinge in the pit of my stomach. It is a feeling I have felt many times and one that we all have to deal with on occasion.

As a child the feeling would come over me when I visited a large body of water. Looking out over the wide expanse, my eye would catch a colorful buoy bobbing in the water. Though I knew it was an inanimate object, something about it looked so small and lonesome bouncing around in an unforgiving sea.

Loneliness does not occur only when you are completely alone. It can happen even when surrounded by crowds of people. It can rear its ugly head in a marriage, a family or a church. The need to be noticed, accepted and loved is built into each human. Without these we become like a buoy bobbing around in the world – present but feeling isolated.

Lonely times are not always bad. Often isolation causes the sufferer to reach out to God and others. People may not always respond to our cries for help, but God longs to fill the void with a meaningful relationship we were born wanting and needing.

In my younger years I lived through a chain of lonely experiences. But it was during those times that I began to develop a deep friendship with my heavenly Father. Regularly, I found myself having conversations with the One who saw me when I was alone.

The Lord became my greatest confidant, comforter and encourager as I bobbed my way along in each new ocean.

Each of you will also live through times of loneliness. You may be physically alone or, though surrounded by people, feel that you don’t belong. Take heart; you have a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

He promises to always be with you. He hears your cries. He understands your heart. And He knows your need for companionship because He made you with that desire.

Use times of solitude to reach out to Him and you will find He is near. He will strengthen you. He will help you. He will uphold you with His mighty right hand.

And, in time, as you push past your comfort zone and extend yourself to others, He will enrich you with other meaningful relationships that will satisfy and bless you.

Life’s ocean may always be vast and foreboding, but unlike a lonesome buoy, with God as your Father you are never truly alone.

Sandra Sheridan is a Midwest wife and mother of five. She shares her messages to her children with Farm World. Visit her at www.VersesFromMama.com