Before Advent began, I stumbled upon an Advent Devotional from The Gospel Coalition - The Weary World Rejoices - Daily Devotions for Advent edited by Melissa Kruger. I floated the idea past some other ladies at Veritas, and now we have a Signal chat in which we can share our daily thoughts and reflections. The Devotional is structured around the concept of an Advent Wreath; Advent wreaths traditionally have 4 or 5 candles that are lit on the Sundays of Advent, and each of the candles represent Christian concepts like Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and Faith.
This week we are looking at Peace, and today’s devotional was “Peace in the Loneliness”. By God’s grace, this Christmas season, I’m experiencing real joy and connectivity with family and friends, but the entry brought to memory Christmas 2020.
Christmas 2020 hit me very hard; besides the global pandemic we were all going through, I was still in shell shock from the massive church conflict that happened within Veritas in 2019. November 2020 was also the 10 year anniversary of my mother’s passing. My husband and his family have always invested a lot into celebrating Christmas (and most years I really love and appreciate this), but that year, all of the cheer and festivities made me feel all the more alone in my pain and grief.
“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distress. Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins. Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me. Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.” (Ps. 25:16-20)
Today’s devotional, based around this scripture, did a beautiful job of reminding me that loneliness is a form of suffering and not inherently sinful - at times we can be filled with anxiety that the distance we feel from God and others must be because we have put some sinful barrier between ourselves and God. This psalm reminds us that for David, the circumstances of living in a broken sinful world were responsible for his suffering and loneliness, and that God is our deliverer from that. It’s worth noting that when in loneliness, our pain can cause us to lash out or escape with sinful distractions, so confession and repentance can have its place in the process of healing.
In this season in which we remember the birth of our savior and deliverer, Jesus, we consider all of the ways ‘His coming meant the securing of eternal peace between you and God, and you and others - the death of loneliness.’ (Aragon, 39)
When our Lord took on our sins and went to the cross, he was primarily paying our debts and reconciling us with God. One of the other generosities of Christ on the cross was he now too can empathize with the loneliness of feeling separated from God and others. Having someone else truly understand our suffering and loneliness is a balm that begins to bring us back to our God-designed relational unity. My prayer is that if you are in a season of suffering and loneliness that this may remind you that Jesus brings us peace in the loneliness, and that may gently fan a flame that warms and comforts your heart.
Best and blessings,
Emily Ruth Perry | Director of Community Life
EmilyRuth@veritasfayetteville.com