VL - Issue 34 - January 2020

STEPPING FORWARD
originally. Likewise, we can fill our lives with busyness
and superficial relationships and find some temporary
relief, but once we stop being busy or that relationship
no longer exists, we snap right back to those feelings.
Loneliness will never be solved with substitution; we must
address the emptiness.
Simply said, nothing on earth—not money, sex, drugs,
careers, athletics, people, or anything else—can give you
peace and fill the void in you that leads to loneliness.
Only God can cure our
feelings of loneliness, and
when He does, we realize
that we were never alone.
Overcome
Loneliness
BY RUSSELL JOHN NESTOR
I KNOW THAT AS A PRISONER, SEPARATED FROM THE
world I once knew, it’s easy to fall into feelings of loneliness.
I can be surrounded by hundreds of people all day long,
even interact with many of them, but still feel alone. Have
you ever felt that way?
So how can we change or deal with these feelings? I believe
the best way to approach this subject is to start with
looking at what will not help. Once we understand that, it’s
easier to see what will help.
Often when we’re lonely, we turn to activities and relationships
to fill the void. Those things may temporarily
alleviate loneliness, but when we use them to combat a
greater problem, it’s like putting a Band-Aid on a deep
wound. It might cover the wound, but it won’t help it heal.
Lonely feelings are spiritual and are deeply rooted.
Loneliness is like a rubber band. You can stretch one, but
as soon as you let it go, it snaps right back to what it was
The world says humanistic psychology or therapy
will do it, but it won’t. Someone once said, “There’s a
hole in our soul so big that only God can fill it.” Only
God can cure our feelings of loneliness, and when He
does, we realize that we were never alone.
So how do we overcome our loneliness through God?
We draw near to Him. When we do, He draws near to
us (James 4:8). We start believing what He says in His
Word, that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews
13:5). That means, wherever we are, He is!
If Jesus loved us enough to leave the glory and splendor
of heaven to come to earth to die in our place, isn’t
that proof of how far He is willing to go in His love for
us? Proverbs 18:24 NIV says, “there is a friend who
sticks closer than a brother,” and that friend is Jesus.
Whether you are in an actual prison or a virtual one
brought about through feelings of loneliness and depression,
let the “God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow
with hope” (Romans 15:13 NIV). If there’s one thing
I’ve learned along this journey of many years in prison,
it’s that we are never alone; Jesus longs to comfort and
strengthen us.
Draw close to Him today through prayer—through
simple conversation with the God who loves you. Let
Him fill that void as He draws you close to Himself.
There is no loneliness in His presence.
RUSSELL JOHN NESTOR serves the Lord in federal prison and
mentors other inmates. He is passionate about helping people
know the God who has given him hope in the midst of trying
circumstances.
8 Issue 01 / 2020 VICTORIOUSLIVINGMAGAZINE.COM