Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
Psalm 25:16, ESV
My number one fan is gone. My husband had the gift of encouragement. When we married, I was a shy, introvert with anger issues. But through the years, he loved me as Christ loves the church – unconditionally. With his love and encouragement, I slowly emerged out of my shell like a caterpillar transformed into a butterfly.
He convinced me I could do anything and supported whatever I wanted to do in work and ministry. Over the years, especially his last one, he would look at me with such love and say, “you are so beautiful”. My lack of self-confidence would surface, and I would shrug, not believing what he said. I had gained weight and gotten older, but he still encouraged me through my insecurities.
Love and Encouragement
But as I thought about those words of love and encouragement he spoke, I found myself longing to hear him say them again. Then I whispered a prayer to the Lord about being lonely and longing to hear his words of encouragement once again.
During that time, I attended an office lunch. One of the staff told me about a visit with a woman I had seen the day before. The woman told her I had visited and then said, “She is so beautiful”. When my co-worker told me that, I immediately remembered the prayer I whispered to the Lord. I knew in that moment that God is not only with us in our loneliness, He not only hears us, but he cares deeply about the longings of our heart.
Encouraged From Heaven
We don’t know what goes on in the heavenly realm, but we can know this. God does not forget us in our aloneness. He knows our every need and responds accordingly to give us hope and encouragement. God is our number one fan and responds even to our simple, whispered prayers.
Encouraged From Psalms
In Psalm 25:16, the psalmist is lamenting his need to the Lord. Not only is he lonely, but afflicted meaning needy, weak and/or depressed. Loneliness can do that to our mind and body. It can cause us to be depressed and weak. But when we pour out those emotions to the Lord, he meets our need in a way we don’t expect. He is gracious to us. One of the meanings of gracious is to bend or stoop in kindness, to favor and bestow and to show mercy. Just as the psalmist lamented to the Lord, we can do that too. In a simple, whispered prayer, we make our mental and physical condition known to Him and He will stoop in kindness to show us mercy. What an encouragement this is to remember.
Tip to Encourage
TIP: Doing things that are normal day-to-day activities helps to keep our mind focused on the task rather than focused on our loss and resulting emotions. Making the bed, doing the dishes, taking a bath, doing the laundry; whatever is normal in our lives is a huge step for moving forward. One day at a time. One step at a time. One moment at a time.
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