Biblical Profiles

by Julie Jenkins

A Lesson from David

We can learn a plethora of lessons from studying the life of David, whose full story is fascinating and can be read in 1 Samuel 16-1 Kings 2.

David is considered the greatest king of Israel, was deemed a man after God’s heart, and became an ancestor of Jesus. However, he was also a liar, adulterer, and murderer. There is no doubt David was a complex individual! (I think I know someone else whose past and responses to God run the gamut from faithful to disobedient—maybe you do, too. The person I know has a two-letter pronoun that begins with an M and ends with an E!)

Despite his ups and downs (or maybe because of his ups and downs), there is much we can learn from David, who was a deep thinker with a passion for prayer. One of those lessons is how to respond when we are feeling lonely. See, before he was King David, young David was a shepherd boy who was unexpectedly anointed to be the king and later put in a position of fleeing for his life. David ran and hid and prayed and processed. During that time, he wrote many of the Psalms.

In Psalm 25, David prays to God, begging for His guidance and forgiveness and proclaiming his reliance on the Lord. When we get to verse 16, we see David’s anguish mount as he cries out to God:

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish.

Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.

See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me! Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you.

(Psalm 25:16-21 NIV)

David puts words to his distress—confessing that he is lonely and afflicted. Have you ever been there?

I know that I have! David expands on his misery, naming many troubles that are all converging. But he doesn’t stop there, simply hanging out his complaints to sway in the wind. Instead, David offers his grievances to God in full disclosure and trust, petitioning his true King to free him by removing his troubles, sins, and enemies. As he cries out in pain, David’s pleas resonate with hope. He trusts God to guard and rescue him from his loneliness and affliction, claiming that his hope lies in the integrity and uprightness of the Lord.

We surmise that David’s true loneliness was caused by his isolation from God, which came about as he allowed his troubles, afflictions, distress, sin, and enemies to consume him. The cure came when David looked to God, took refuge in Him in obedience, and allowed his hope to grow.

There is no worse feeling of loneliness than turning away from the love of God. On the other hand, when we practice the presence of God—crying out to Him in joy, despair, gratefulness, or repentance—our loneliness and affliction fade as hope and love are ushered in.

If you are feeling lonely, take a cue from David—reach out to God in full transparency and trust. We all go through peaks and valleys in our lives. And we all experience different stages of community and isolation. Perhaps God allows us to experience times of seclusion and despair so we will draw closer to Him. Have you ever considered that God is lonely for you? That He is yearning for YOUR presence? I’ve heard it said that if there are 1000 steps between you and God, God will take 999, but you must take one step to close the gap!

When you are fighting loneliness, follow David’s prescription. Take that one step—cry out to God with transparency, staking the claim that you trust His perfection. When you do, I guarantee that God WILL come through for you. God will never leave you alone! Basking in His presence is the best cure for loneliness.

IF YOU ARE FEELING LONELY, TAKE A CUE FROM DAVID... REACH OUT TO GOD IN FULL TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST.