Lonely, Troubled, or Afflicted?

 

What to do when you are lonely, troubled, or afflicted.

 This sounds like David in Psalm 25. Listen to what he says in verses 16 through 18

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

Even the best of God’s people gets lonely at times. David was afflicted, which means he was suffering. Perhaps he was ill or just his distress and loneliness was making him sick.

David had enemies that wanted to kill him. Not many of us have that kind of distress but many of us have people at work or school or neighbors who are so caustic that just the mention of their name causes our stomachs to churn.

David had troubles. He had troubles with King Saul. At one point he was the leader of a gang of raiders who were trying to survive in the wilderness. Try to make godly decisions with that bunch of people.

We have troubles and often they are a result of our sinful decisions. In all of these things we need to do as David did and ask the Lord to forgive our sins.

Finally, David says in verse 20:

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

If you are lonely, troubled, or afflicted, then turn to Jesus. Confess your sin and trust him for your salvation. Jesus said,

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

If you don't know Jesus, then watch my video on YouTube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation and then you will be blessed according to the Bible.

 

Comforting Suffering People

Have you ever been with someone who is suffering? It may be the loss of loved ones. It may be the loss of possessions. It may be the loss of health.

What do you do? The book of Job has a very brief description of how to comfort. But it also has a very long description of how not to comfort.

Here is the best comfort you can give. Job 2 verses 11 and 13 says, "Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him … And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great."

When all else fails just be there. Wait for you friend to speak and listen. But this is as far as Job's three friends went. When Job expressed his bitterness and anguished they started to speak.

In a nutshell, for 35 chapters they harangued Job with the same theme. You sinned and this evil is a result of your sins. Repent and you will be healed and fortunes restored. Job was driven to despair by his suffering and by their attacks on his integrity.

Paul tells how to comfort others in 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3 through 5 he says, "The Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

If you have suffered then you can point them to the Father who has comforted you. If you haven't suffered you must admit it but you can assure them the Lord does comfort. If you know Jesus and his suffering, you can help if you don't assume to know all the answers.

If you don't know Jesus you really don't have answers to suffering. If you want to know Jesus and have the wisdom to help people who suffer, Watch my video on Youtube, "The Gospel in 3 Minutes" It will tell you how to know Jesus for salvation.

May God Bless you.

There are good ways and bad ways to comfort people in their suffering. The Bible gives examples. #bibledevotion #suffering #comfort #salvation #gospelin3minutes #jesussaves