Why do I feel so lonely even though I have friends?

You were in the room. Maybe you even laughed at the right moments. But somewhere on the drive home, the quiet hit you, and it felt heavier than being alone would have. That particular kind of lonely, surrounded by people but still unseen, might be the hardest one to explain. Peter wrote his letter to people scattered across what is now Turkey, people who had lost their footing and wondered if God had simply moved on without them. And this is what he told them.

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."

- 1 Peter 5:10 (KJV)

Before tonight ends, write down one specific thing that is different in you compared to six months ago. One fear that lost some grip. One thing you carry better. It does not have to be big. Hold that and say out loud: he is not finished with me yet.

What is one quiet change in you over the past few months that you have not yet stopped to notice?

Father, the loneliness has been real. But I trust that your hands have been working in it, not around it. Finish what you started in me. Amen.