Lonliness… The Greatest Poverty

By Joni Eareckson Tada|Published On: February 25, 2019|Categories: 1-Minute Radio Program|

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada. During one of our Family Retreats I sat on a camp porch trying to console Jennifer, a young woman with cerebral palsy. Jennifer struggled with loneliness and didn’t have many friends… I really felt for her. And maybe you can relate to her. Perhaps you’re elderly and cannot leave your apartment, or you have an illness that limits visitors, or you’re a student away from home. If so, let me share the verse I gave Jennifer that day. Psalm 25 says, “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” Well, God saw Jennifer’s loneliness, because just three weeks later, a volunteer job opened up for her at a local center for kids with disabilities, and now she loves on disabled babies in need of attention.

Oh, friend, nothing gets rid of loneliness like focusing off ourselves, then focusing on God, then others.