Loneliness

Based on 20Somethings 3/10, 3/17, 3/24, and 4/6 of 2013

C.S. Lewis- "...When first things are put first, second things are not suppressed but increased."

Intimacy

1) created for intimacy
   - Gen. 2:15; 1:16
2) intimacy is riddled with difficulty and idolatry
   - when a good things becomes ultimate
   - Gen. 3:9-11; 3:16, 21, 23-24
3) Jesus took seperation and brought reconciliation
   - Heb. 4:13; Isaiah 53:4-5; Eph. 2:13-22
4) There is hope for PERFECT intimacy
   - Rom. 8:32; Eph. 4:13; Rev. 21&22; Phil. 1:6

Application

When do I experience loneliness?

Did I react in a way that was spiritually healthy?

Does Jesus really help my loneliness?

Do I have difficulty gaining intimacy with God or intimacy with other people?

Alone vs. Lonely (loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is the richness of self)

Jesus' lifestyle (Luke 6:12-19)

Discipline

1) solitude
   - solitude: spiritual goals, abstain from others
   - silence: abstain from speaking
   - prayer: converse with God according to His will
2) community
   - fellowship
   - Jesus called for the twelve apostles
3) ministry
   - outreach
   - Jesus went to the towns

Application

Of the three motions, which one(s) is not where it needs to be in my life?

How could solitude and silence enhance my intimacy with God?

How do I or could I spend time with God?

How could intimacy with God help with loneliness?  Maybe when a human relationship failed?

In what ways could intimacy with God enhance my engagement with Community and Ministry?

Bigger questions

1) What? What not?
   A. What not?
      * sexuality, impossible (fragments/broken), isolation or immersion (2 extremes)
      * "I want to be safe" vs. "I need you in order to live"
         - ISO+IMM= frustrated
         - IMMx2= enmeshed
         - ISOx2= isolated
      * impossible to satisfy expectations; based on hearts and desires
   B. What is?  (John 17:20-26)
      * all love begins with God
      * 1 John 1:6-7
      * Wars of lust (James 4:1, 4)
      * Sin is intimacy killer
2) Why? Why not?
   A. Why?
      * For God's redemptive purposes
      * For God- love others to echo Gospel (together for love and purpose and to know and be known)
   B. Why not?
      * Distraction
      * Sin (other pleasures)
      * fear of risk (cripples one from intimacy)
      * self-centeredness (what I want)
3) How? How not? (John 15, involves self sacrifice)
   A. Risk
      * dangerous and rewarding
   B. Rest
      * away from immersion


Application

Would I characterize any of my current relationships as "intimate relationships"?  Why/why not?
(An intimate relationship is a relationship that shares love and purpose based on knowing another and being known)

What am I tempted to view intimacy as?

Do I tend toward isolation or immersion?

Could I practice Risk (isolation) or Rest/Contentment (immersion) to become balanced for intimacy?

Who should I grow in intimate relationships with? 
   a. With the world?  (John 3:16-17)
   b. With enemies?  (Matt. 5:43-48; Matt. 10:16-18)
   c. With fools?  (Prov. 13:20; Ps. 1:1; Matt. 5:22)

 

Contentment

How could I remind myself of what I have in Christ, or what I do in Christ in times of exclusion, rejection, or loneliness?

Moonlight Test: where am I seeking something for it's own good without acknowledging God as the Giver?

How can I turn my pleasures into praise?