Escape From Loney Island

There's a beautiful spot on the coast of Maine called Bar Harbor, because there's a bar in the harbor. It's a sandbar that is totally exposed at low tide and totallysubmergd at high tide. The bar goes from the mainland to a little island called, yup, Bar Island. The island's OK, but you wouldn't want to spend a lot of time there.Although some people do -- a lot more time than they planned to spend. When our family walked across the bar at low tide, we made sure to check that tide chart tosee when the tide would be coming back. As we were walking back from the island, the bar was already a little narrower than it had been -- the tide was coming in.Then there were those intelligent tourists who waited a little too long to start back, and there was no way back! Now no one has to be stranded on that island.There's a way off, if you take it!

Lonely Island isn't on any map, but it's an island we all spend time on. Loneliness is an emotional island we can get stranded on when we have been isolated, orignored, or left out, or forgotten, maybe misunderstood maybe even abandoned. Maybe even today finds you in the middle of another lonely time.

The good news is that you don't have to be stuck on Lonely Island Loneliness is ultimately not a prison sentence, it's a choice! Feeling lonely in unavoidable, it's partof being human. But staying lonely is a choice. Just like Bar Island, there are some steps to take to leave the island.

One way to make a lonely time a short time is to find someone who needs you. To reach out from your loneliness, even if you don't feel like it, to make a differencefor someone else. At a time when loneliness leaves you thinking about yourself, it's important to decide to look beyond yourself. Another antidote to loneliness is toexpand your world, especially your circle of friendships. If you take the risks to reach out to more people, you can reduce your trips to Lonely Island.

But even with all our efforts to cope with the lonely times, a lot us carry this gnawing sense of loneliness with us most of the time. It isn't necessarily that there aren'tpeople there for us, it's just that those people have never been enough to fill us up inside. It's like there is always someone missing. Well there is -- the One you weremade by, the One you were made for.

The incurable loneliness in the human heart is cosmic loneliness. We're lonely for God. No earth relationship has ever been able to fill the God-shaped hole in ourheart. In the words of the Bible, inIsaiah 59:2, "Your sins have separated you from your God."Your sins, all those thousands of choices you've made in yourlifetime that disregarded God's way for "my way." So here we are, away from the one Person who has the love we're looking for. The only Person who knows whywe were created, the Person we will meet the moment we die.

For our word for today from the Word of God, consider this promise from Jesus in light of the loneliness you know all too well.Hebrews 13:5, says of Jesus,"Iwill never leave you. I will never forsake you."Think of it -- unloseable, unconditional love. Jesus' love for you took Him all the way to a brutal death on across, where He gave His life to pay your sin-bill with God. The One whose love you've been looking for all these years is yours the moment you tell Jesus, "I'mYours." You are one step of faith away from the world's only"never leave you"love.

Your anchor relationship could begin this very day and never end. Never, no matter what else changes and no matter who else leaves. And you will have spent yourlast day alone.

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Today's Daily Wisdom is written by Ron Hutchcraft, based on his popular radio broadcast,"A Word With You"."A WORD WITH YOU" daily devotionals are now available via e-mail. To subscribe send a blank email to:awordwithyou-subscribe@hutchcraft.com,or to request the "Yours for Life" booklet, fill out the form on this site:http://www.gospelcom.net/rhm/yours/yflorder.html. Ron Hutchcraft Ministries has been on-line with Gospelcom since February, 1996, providingpractical answers to real life issues. (c) 2000 Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc.PO Box 400, Harrison AR 72602