The Father has a family for the lonely

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The Father has a family for the lonely

Isaiah 41:13 I hold you by your right hand – I, the LORD your God. And I say to you, Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

Psalms 68:4-6

 4 Sing praises to God and to his name! Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds. His name is the LORD – rejoice in his presence!

 5 Father to the fatherless, defender of widows – this is God, whose dwelling is holy.

 6 God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

There is an epidemic of loneliness raging across America. In the decade preceding the COVID-19 epidemic, nearly 30% of older Americans were living alone. Some 40% stated that they sometimes or always felt their social relationships were not meaningful, and 20% say they felt lonely or socially isolated.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem. A report by Harvard University researchers found that that 36% of Americans are experiencing “serious loneliness,” and some groups, such as young adults and mothers with small children, are especially isolated (Harvard GSE Report, February 2021).

What is loneliness? Loneliness is tied to the quality of one’s relationships. “Social science researchers define loneliness as the emotional state created when people have fewer social contacts and meaningful relationships than they would like – relationships that make them feel known and understood. Essentially, if you feel lonely, you are lonely” (The Week, January 6, 2019).

“Loneliness is the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one’s desires for social connection and actual experiences of it. Even some people who are surrounded by others throughout the day – or are in a long-lasting marriage – still experience deep and pervasive loneliness” (Psychology Today).

A lack of social connectedness is for many very painful. Human beings made in the image of the Father have an innate desire to connect.

The Father delights in taking tender care of the children of the King. Father has made many remarkable provisions regarding loneliness and isolation. “God’s majesty never implies his remoteness from those who look to him; it implies instead his exhaustive attention to detail, and his inexhaustible ability to care for his faithful” (ESV notes).

REFLECT & PRAY

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.

Father thank You for preparing a family, a home for each lonely child of the King. You know exactly who and what we need.

INSIGHT

The Father protects those who are weakest. He is a father to the fatherless (orphans) and an advocate, defender of the widows, protector of the unfortunate, and dispossessed. As a group, orphans and widows are defenseless. They have no one to protect them. Therefore, the Father Himself becomes their protector

Deuteronomy 10:18 He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice.

Psalms 68:5 He is a father to the fatherless and an advocate for widows.

But the Father is more than a protector, He is a mighty warrior who takes up the cause of the needy and downtrodden. In the old West, he might’ve been called a lawman. He defends those that are the least of the least in society.

As children of the King consider the mighty works of their warrior King, the psalmist invites them to sing, to praise, and make music to His name.

Psalms 68:4 Sing to God! Sing praises to his name! Exalt the one who rides on the clouds! For the LORD is his name! Rejoice before him!

He is depicted as one who “rides on the sky” or “rides in the clouds.” It is intended as, “a poetic description of God’s exalted majesty” (Ross).

This word picture borrows an epitaph of the culture of the day. The mythological storm god Baal was called “the one who rides on the clouds.” This expresses a common intercultural theme of the time. Much like in 21st-century Western culture, most everyone knows what the Super Bowl is or who Mr. Spock was. And we have common expressions we use, “yada, yada, yada,” “have a nice day,” or “be safe.” “This theme of the Divine Warrior is always closely associated with God’s justice and support for the least of society” (NICOT).

Father does something delightful and marvelous for those who are alone or desolate. He finds and provides a place for them, a home, a family.  The Hebrew word translated as home or family is bayit. Bayit is literally a house, dwelling, building, and thus family or household.

God makes a home for the lonely (he places the lonely in families). – Psalms 68:6

There is a place for each child of the King, a family, a home on earth, and in heaven for all eternity. How marvelous and beautiful.

John 14:2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, I would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you.

Somewhere (Barbra Streisand)

There’s a place for us

Somewhere a place for us

Peace and quiet and open air

Wait for us somewhere

There’s a time for us

Someday a time for us

Time together with time to spare

Time to learn

And a time to care

Someday

Somewhere

We’ll find a new way of living

We’ll find there’s a way of forgiving

Somewhere

There’s a place for us (a place for us)

Somewhere there is a place for us

Hold my hand and we’re halfway there

Hold my hand and I’ll take you there

Someday, someday, somewhere, somewhere

We’ll find a new way of living

We’ll find there’s a way of forgiving

Somewhere

There’s a place for us

A time and a place for us

¯\_(ツ)_/¯