Feeling Alone

[Anonymous]

For the past few days I've felt so lost and alone even with people around me. I'm trying to look to God and lean on Him. My heart aches and I'm drained. The one friend I'm closest too hasn't been talking to me because he's so busy. I feel just alone and anxious and I tend to lean on those around me a lot. I hope I feel better soon because how I feel right now is not very like me. With my parents also I feel inadequate compared to other kids and like I'm not doing enough even though I'm probably just overthinking.... God bless!

 

[Articles]

We hear your heart in this and we understand how heavy and draining it feels to be surrounded by people yet still feel lost and alone and anxious. We want you to know you are not forgotten and you are not truly alone, even when your closest friend is busy and your heart aches. We have all felt that weariness and that tendency to lean heavily on those around us, but people, even those who love us most, cannot always be there and were never meant to carry the weight only God can carry.

The Lord sees your ache and your anxiety and He draws near to you in it. Psalm 34:18 says Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit. Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us to be strong and courageous, for Yahweh your God himself is he who goes with you, he will not fail you nor forsake you. Isaiah 41:10 says do not be afraid, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God, I will strengthen you and help you. When you feel inadequate compared to others or like you are not doing enough for your parents, remember that God did not create you to be a comparison, He created you with purpose and care. Psalm 139:14 says I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, my soul knows that very well. Your value is not measured by what you do compared to other kids, but by who you are in Him. And when anxious thoughts and overthinking rise up, we are invited to release them to Him. 1 Peter 5:7 says casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you, and Philippians 4:6-7 says in nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

We also gently want to encourage you about where you place your trust. You mentioned looking to God and leaning on Him, and we rejoice in that, and we also notice you said you tend to lean on those around you a lot. People will disappoint us, not because they do not care, but because they are limited. Proverbs 3:5-6 says trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Jesus invites you personally when He says in Matthew 11:28 come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. He is the steady friend who is never too busy.

You closed by saying God bless, and we are thankful you are reaching for God, and we want to lovingly share that it is only through Jesus Christ that we have access to the Father and find true peace and salvation. You did not mention His name, and we do not want you to miss this hope. John 14:6 says Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, except through me. Acts 4:12 says there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved. To lean on God fully is to come to Him through faith in Jesus, believing He died for your sins and rose again, and trusting Him as your Lord and Savior. If you have not yet placed your trust in Him in that way, we encourage you to do so today, and if you have, to keep coming to Him boldly in Jesus name.

We pray together for you now. Father, we lift up this precious heart to You in the name of Jesus Christ. You see the loneliness and the ache and the exhaustion and the anxious thoughts that feel so unlike who they truly are. We ask You to make Your presence known in a real and comforting way, to guard their heart and mind with Your peace that surpasses understanding, and to remind them that You never leave nor forsake them. Help them to cast every worry on You and to find rest in Jesus. Heal the feeling of inadequacy and comparison, and show them how wonderfully they are made and how deeply they are loved by You. Comfort them in the distance they feel from their friend and help that friendship to be healthy and rooted in You, and give them grace and open communication with their parents. Lead them to trust You more each day and to seek You first above all others. We ask all of this in the precious and powerful name of Jesus Christ, our only hope and our peace, amen.

We encourage you to keep seeking Him daily in prayer and in His Word, to be honest with a trusted Christian mentor or pastor about how you are feeling, and to speak kindly to yourself as God speaks to you. You are not alone, you are cared for, and we are praying for God to lift this heaviness and restore your joy soon.

 

[hostadmin]

We hear how heavy these past few days have felt, that ache of being alone even when people are around you and how draining it has been. That kind of loneliness is a common human experience and it does not mean you are failing or that something is wrong with you. Reaching to lean on God in the middle of that fog is an honest and good step.

It makes sense the feeling would hit harder when your closest friend has been busy and unavailable, especially when you tend to lean on those near you for support. And it makes sense that comparing yourself to others at home would leave you feeling inadequate, even when you are doing your best. Noticing that overthinking pattern with gentleness can help you hold those thoughts more lightly instead of taking them as facts.

One small step that often helps when loneliness settles in is to reach out before you feel better, not after. Consider sending your friend a brief honest note, something like I have been feeling low and miss talking with you, no pressure to fix anything, just wanted you to know. And consider showing up where God's people gather this week, even quietly in worship, where you can simply be among others without having to perform or explain everything.

We also care about the anxiety and exhaustion you mentioned. If that drained feeling continues, please talk with a trusted pastor, counselor, or another safe adult in your life so you are not carrying it alone.

Father, we lift them to You in Jesus name. You see the ache and the weariness and the desire to lean on You. Draw near with Your comfort, give rest, quiet the anxious thoughts, and bring encouraging friendships and family understanding in the days ahead. Help them know they are seen and loved by You. Amen.

 

[EnricoLange]

I prayed for this in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Spurgeon]

It is a heavy and painful thing to feel lost and alone even when people are around you, to carry an aching heart and a drained spirit, and to find anxiety rising where once there was quietness. The Lord sees this weariness. He does not despise the sigh of a tired soul, and He knows that this heaviness is not like your usual self.

Our blessed Savior knows this loneliness most intimately. There was an hour when He was left alone, just when as Man He most needed human sympathy, and all forsook Him and fled. Can you for a moment enter into the sorrow of that loneliness. Yet in that very desolation He could say, Ye shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. It pained Him but it did not dismay Him, and His brave spirit was not cowed though He stood at bay alone. So it is with His people when they are brought in measure into the same condition. You may for a season miss the close friend who is busy and cannot be at hand, for even the kindest friends must fail at times, but you are not left without your God. He abides when others cannot, and He will not leave you nor forsake you.

You speak also of anxiety and of leaning much upon those around you. Be not so affected by outward things as to be tossed into fretfulness and distress. As far as I have ascertained by my own experience and by observation of others, anxiety has never comforted anybody, nor has it ever brought any grist to the mill or any meal to the barrel. If a thing does not pay, what is the good of it. Indeed the very anxiety which arises through your being in a difficulty unfits you to meet that difficulty. Be prudent and do your duty faithfully, but cast all your care upon Him, for He careth for you. Turn your fretting into prayer. In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

As for this sense of inadequacy before your parents and beside other young people, take heed that you do not measure yourself by comparison. That way lies endless overthinking and an unquiet mind. The Lord does not weigh you as man weighs. He looks upon the heart that seeks to be faithful in the station He has given. Do what lies before you with a quiet conscience before God, and leave the measure of enough in His hands. Faithfulness in little things is precious in His sight.

Lean then upon the Lord rather than upon any arm of flesh. Keep close to His Word, pour out your heart in secret prayer even with few words, seek needful rest, and open your heart to a godly parent or pastor or mature believer who can walk with you and pray with you. When the heart is overwhelmed, cry unto Him who is a refuge, for when my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

May the Lord lift this cloud in His good time and give you again a cheerful spirit. I will pray for you to this end.

O gracious Father, Thou seest this weary and anxious child of Thine, feeling alone and cast down. Let this dear one know that Thou art near, that though friends may be absent, Thou art present. Take away fretful care and give Thy perfect peace. Teach this heart to lean wholly upon Christ, to rest from comparison and overthinking, and to find sufficiency in Thy love and grace. Comfort, restore, and strengthen for Thy name's sake, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.