A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple.
‘I will exalt you, Lord , for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me. O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health. You brought me up from the grave, O Lord . You kept me from falling into the pit of death. Sing to the Lord , all you godly ones! Praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!” Your favor, O Lord , made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered. I cried out to you, O Lord . I begged the Lord for mercy, saying, “What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness? Hear me, Lord , and have mercy on me. Help me, O Lord .” You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!’ Psalms 30:1-12(NLT)
‘O Lord , you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord . You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.’ Psalms 139:1-12(NLT)
‘Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.’ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12(NLT)
‘Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. ‘ Galatians 6:2(NLT)
‘Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.’ Hebrews 10:24-25(NLT)
The enemy wants us to think bad things happen only to me. No one else deals with what I do. No one else has this type of pain that gnaws and bites all day, every day, over and over, year after year. No one else notices my pain—notices that things are harder for me than it is for them.
So we isolate. We become so comfortable in our little “club” that we forget it’s more than a single person club. There is no victory when we stay isolated in our victim mentality.
I live in Oklahoma where we have tornadoes. If you don’t know what a tornado is and how it works, just picture an unpredictable cyclone of terror destroying whatever or whomever it may decide to descend on. I recently learned that tornadoes only have damaging power when they’re alone. When other cyclones start to form and try to join up with another storm, each separate tornado fizzles and disappears. But the storm which remains alone becomes destructive.
How parallel is that to our pain! We are a single source of cyclone pain, allowing it to terrorize and destroy our path, and if left alone we can just continue on in that destructive manner. When we break out of isolation by sharing our pain, we realize there are many others out there with their own “cyclone” of pain. As we join together, sharing and bringing to light our hurts, not only will our terror start to subside, it causes the other person’s terror to subside as well.
If this doesn’t speak to your spirit, you may also consider that you are in a God-ordained season of isolation from people so that you can only turn to God. Sometimes He gently allows you to have those feelings of loneliness so that He can prepare to launch you into something greater. Do some soul searching in how or why or who you may feel isolated from. Be open to the work God may be doing in you as you have more time to spend with Him.
Another way we isolate is from God. We may think our little matters aren’t enough to bring to Him. We may even blame Him for being the cause of hard things.
Even if you feel God is distant, He is always right there waiting for you to be awakened and turn to Him.
For reflection today ask yourself if you are building up greater feelings of pain by isolating. First, make sure you are not isolating from God. Ask Him to help calm your storm. Second, ask God if he is bringing you into a season of isolation to reveal His next plan to you. Then work on your community. If you don’t already have a good, strong source of true community around you, begin to build one.
Victim mentality will tell you it’s not your responsibility to find good people for your life, but think victoriously and prayerfully. Open your life, storms and all, to invite others in.
from A Shattered Life: Victor Vs. Victim by Erin Simms