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Loneliness, Lonely, Comfort Dana Rongione Loneliness, Lonely, Comfort Dana Rongione

Smiling on the Outside, Screaming on the Inside

You can be in a room full of people and still feel utterly, devastatingly alone.

I know this because I've been there. Surrounded by voices and laughter, yet feeling invisible. Present at the table, yet somehow on the outside looking in. Smiling and nodding while your heart screams, "Does anyone really see me? Does anyone really know what I'm going through?"

Loneliness is one of those struggles Christians rarely discuss openly. We're supposed to have community, the church, and be surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ who care about us and walk alongside us. And yes, that's beautiful when it happens. But what about when it doesn't? What about when you're sitting in a pew next to dozens of believers and have never felt more alone in your life?

The Christian community has often responded to loneliness with a Band-Aid solution: “Just serve more.”

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Prayer, disappointment, Discouragement, Deadly Darts of the Devil, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione Prayer, disappointment, Discouragement, Deadly Darts of the Devil, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione

When Prayer Disappoints

"No, I don't believe in God, and if there is one, I don't want anything to do with Him."

The words were spoken with such anger that I paused before responding, but I couldn't ignore the urging from the Holy Spirit.

"May I ask why?" I inquired.

"Because I prayed just like I was taught, but God didn't answer. He didn't give me what I asked for. So either there isn't a God, or He's just not reliable."

My heart sank. This was not the first time I'd heard this reasoning for doubting God and His goodness. Since arriving in Wales, I've encountered this view repeatedly. How does the concept of prayer become so misconstrued? Where do people get the idea that God is merely a genie in a bottle, waiting to grant their every request? Sadly, it often starts in our pulpits.

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