Never have I ever wished to be lonely. To be alone, maybe, but not lonely.

But we still find ourselves here.

When we don’t feel aligned with those around us,

when our heart seems to be misunderstood,

when we don’t see eye to eye on things or even understand where we are,

loneliness can set in.

It’s not my favorite season, and it’s not my favorite discussion topic.

I actually hate even giving off the notion that loneliness may be something I am experiencing.

When we admit that we are lonely, it feels shameful and obscene.

Because how we actually feel is as though someone blindfolded us and dropped us off right in the middle of “lonely”.

We don’t know how we got there and we don’t even know where the exit is.

And when it’s brought up, it seems like eyes get wider and expressions get uncontrollable. People don’t know what to do and they want to be there for us but instead, they just use words instead of actions.

And the church is filled with lonely people.

“Why do you have to say that Jordan? That’s depressing… You should talk more about how the church is thriving and welcoming towards people.”

And we can talk about that next time, but the truth of the matter is we suck at actually meeting people where they are at.

We communicate based on our knowledge of life and we expect others to just understand and cooperate. We don’t put down the actual differences to let people feel comfortable and we definitely don’t change our behavior because that just really is too much.

And maybe it all boils down to this a little.

That righteousness is not something we can just line ourselves up next to without being made righteous.

His goodness is what leads us to repentance, yeah?

Well, if we’re not doing a lot of repenting, are we actually seeing His goodness?

Are we gazing upon the One who takes us from glory to glory, or are we settled in the glory we once knew?

Because glory to glory will always look like giving up what I once held onto, so that my hands are free to love someone where they need to be loved.

If we spend our lives waiting for someone to speak, think, and associate like us before we can accurately present God’s love to them, I’d like to present the facts… that we are not sharing God’s love at all.

So if you’re in a lonely season, love. Love in your brokenness! Use all of your might that’s found in your pursuit after the Lord and be an extreme lover. Draw near to God and honey, He will draw near to you! Loving others when you feel unloveable is actually what gets us out of being wrapped up in our situation.

And if you’re in a high-fiving, good season, take a glance around you. How many names do you know vs how many hearts? How many people do you have disconnects with, and think about why. What is the thing that keeps you from deeply involving yourself with their lives?

The church doesn’t have to be a lonely place, it really doesn’t.