You ask for prayer that you may do well at your new work, and you confess that the prospect of a solitary life after many years alone now weighs heavily upon your soul. Both requests are known to God, and He is able to supply all that is needed, if we approach Him with a right mind.
Concerning your employment, do not place your trust in your own skill or diligence alone. God alone makes us “meet,” that is, He Himself fits and strengthens us for every good endeavor. A ruler may bestow an office, but only the Lord can fashion the recipient to bear its weight with honor. Therefore, work with all your might as unto Christ, yet lean not on yourself; give thanks in all things, whether the day brings ease or toil, and pray without ceasing that He who gave the task will also supply the wisdom. This is the philosophy we learn from Job, who in anguish still blessed the Lord.
As for the loneliness that troubles you, I do not dismiss it as a small thing. You have endured many years, and your heart grows weary. Yet remember the example of our Master, who often withdrew into solitary places to pray. The wilderness, the mountain, the quiet of night, these are not punishments but a harbor for the soul, delivering us from turmoil. If Christ Himself sought such retirement, how much more should we embrace the seasons when He calls us apart? Do not imagine that you are truly alone; the One who fills heaven and earth is present, and the soul that converses with Him in stillness finds a companionship sweeter than any earthly bond.
I perceive that the fear of remaining alone unto death is the serpent’s whisper, seeking to enslave you through dread. But hear how Paul says that through fear of death men are subject to lifelong bondage. Christ has burst the very belly of death; He has trampled down the devil, who once held that tyranny. The one who no longer fears death, who counts even his life as nothing compared to the kingdom, cannot be made a slave to any earthly terror. For if you despise the loss of all things, property, country, even life itself, what claim has the evil one upon you? This is the freedom of the children of God.
Consider also that afflictions, including the pain of solitude, are often sent for our correction or to make us approved, as the Lord spoke to Job. Bear it thankfully, then, lest you murmur and lose the profit of the trial. Weep, for it is human; I would weep with you, as Paul commands. But do not let sorrow become unbelief. Instead, examine your own work, and let your rejoicing be in the Lord alone, not in human comforts. In due time, if it be His will, He may grant you a spouse; yet until then, and even if never, do not think that you are impoverished. The barbarians came from afar with trembling to worship the infant Christ, and we, who are citizens of heaven, should run to Him with even greater love.
I say these things not to wound you, but to stir up your soul to nobler things. Do not let these words pass by as a sound heard once and forgotten; such sloth will leave you unarmed when the tempest rises again. Lay hold of eternal life, where there is no loneliness, no weeping, but the blessed assembly of the saints in light, for which He has already made you fit by His grace.