The Cure to Loneliness
In 2023, the Surgeon General declared that the United States is facing a loneliness epidemic, highlighting how isolation affects not only mental health but physical well-being as well. Studies confirm this widespread struggle: psychologist Jean Twenge and her team at the Journal of Adolescence found that 21% of American teens report feeling lonely, while research from Dr. Gene Beresin at the Clay Center for Young and Healthy Minds shows that 73% of young adults aged 16-24 experience loneliness in some form. Clearly, loneliness is not just an occasional feeling—it’s a pervasive reality impacting a significant portion of our younger generations.
This doesn’t make sense! How can this be true when we are living in a more connected world than ever? A world where, in 2023, one survey found that these same teens average 4.8 hours of social media per day. How are we so hyper-connected yet we feel so far apart?
In John 15, Jesus spoke of true connection. He used a vine to symbolize himself and the branches that grow from it to represent his followers. He called them to stay connected to him and, in turn, bear much fruit.
Jesus wants us to have true connection. Not forced connection or pretend pseudo-social connection, but authentic connection to him. He invites us to find this by resting in him and growing to live more like him.
“Remain” or “Abide in me” was his instruction in John 15:4. We are told to rest in him. He went on to tell his followers that his desire was to have friendship with them.
Think about that, God wants to be your friend! Proverbs 18 says that he is a “friend who sticks closer than a brother.” A life that is free from loneliness is one where we know God is always with us, just as he promised in his word.
This is not easy for me! I am not a “be still”, “get alone” kind of person. Truthfully, though, for us to find connection in our world, we don’t need anyone other than Jesus. We are invited to walk with him and know him.
I believe, so many of us search for connection hoping that the next scroll or swipe will lead us to find something Jesus has offered us perfectly and eternally. We waste our time seeking something at the end of our FYP that Jesus offers freely and completely. We are invited into communion with the God of the universe but we seek connection in temporary things.
This connection to Jesus will lead us to growth. “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.” (John 15:5 CSB). We see so clearly that Jesus loves us as we are but has so much more for us.
When we are connected to the source of life, joy and hope we start sprouting out those same things. Our loneliness fades as we are drawn closer to Jesus because we begin to shift our focus to the mission he has for our lives.
The lie of our devises is that “it’s all about me.” My entertainment, my satisfaction and my interests all come at the expense of what’s before me. When we are connected to Jesus we shift our perspective to see ourselves as a part of Gods plan to redeem the world.
