The God Of The Lonely

God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land. 

Psalm 68:6 

God has compassion on the lonely. David experienced loneliness. In one place he writes of his father and mother forsaking him. In another he writes of his close friend becoming his enemy. He felt at times he was at the end of the earth and his heart was overwhelmed. In the psalm before us, he writes of God that He, ‘sets the solitary in families.’ Perhaps nothing in our history has reminded us of the dangers of solitariness more than the recent events of quarantine and distancing. The psychological effect of lack of society has been devastating. How does God do for us when the pressure of loneliness bears down upon our soul, pressing it into depression and despair? God sets the lonely in families. They may be small families, but they are real. Christ had a remarkable way of including the outcasts and the outliers. From His drawing of the disciples together to His seeking out of the woman at the well, and the maniac of Gadara, Christ was constantly working to set the solitary in families. Our work to do good to others is the logical, spiritual extension of the work of Christ. As the Body of Christ, we reach out to draw them in. 

Our Gracious and Kind Savior, 
we rejoice that You are always working, 
to set the solitary in families. 
We praise You that You have given to us 
the privilege of reaching out to those  
whom You have set before us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning