Completion Vs. Loneliness

Colossians 2:6-10 GNV

⁶ As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

⁷ Rooted and built in him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving:

⁸ Beware lest there be any man that spoil you through philosophy, and vain deceit, through the traditions of men, according to the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

⁹ For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

¹⁰ And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.

 

I would like to make a bold declaration. And you can join in with me if you want to.

 

I have been battling a bit of depression and loneliness lately. It comes and goes, and I only experience it in certain places. So I make sure to fellowship with others at church. It helps. And I commune with the Lord's Spirit too. His presence is so special to me.

 

And today, in church, our lead pastor read a Bible chapter that hits home for me (Colossians chapter 2). As seen in the passage above, The Apostle Paul declares "ye are complete in him". The Him, is no one other than Jesus Christ the Lord!

 

So I am going to encourage myself by not only being with my church family, but by also declaring the word of God over my life. Are you ready to join in these declarations with me?? Here we go...

 

Say this along with me....

 

My emotions sometimes feel lonely and unloved.

BUT MY REALITY, FROM GOD's WORD IS:

1) I received Jesus Christ (v6)

2) I walk in Jesus Christ (v6)

3) I am rooted in Jesus Christ (v7)

4) I am established in the faith of Jesus Christ (v7)

5) I have been taught in the faith of Jesus Christ (v7)

6) I have been abounding (producing much fruit) in the faith of Jesus Christ (v7)

7) I am thankful for Jesus Christ and all His blessings to me (v7)

8) I will keep my faith and my thinking pure in Jesus Christ. (v8)

9) Jesus Christ contains ALL RICHES and ALL the fullness of God. (v9)

10) I am COMPLETE in Jesus Christ who is the Head of all power and authority. (v10)  

 

So we have said these statements of truth together. I want us to dwell on each one. What does it really mean?

 

See, I am a well connected man. I am an established church leader of 16 years and I have been in the retail industry for over 20 years. I suffered abandonment from an unbelieving wife because of the ministry and the faith. So I am divorced.
I am well-connected, but I still feel loneliness on occasion. You might feel the same way. 

I know you have probably suffered for Christ as well.

So, I have come to a realization:

 

Loneliness, for me at least, is a feeling of incompletion. I feel like something -someone- is missing from my life. I feel like there could be more to it. And if left unchecked, loneliness can turn sour and develop into unhealthy habits for us, like watching the wrong kinds of videos or eating too much. Or it could turn into ungratefulness and extreme self-centeredness. If left unchecked, loneliness could make you blind to the current reality of your blessings. Loneliness, if we dwell on it too long, could create a victim mentality which has us letting go of our responsibilities, claiming our circumstances are too difficult for us to be responsible in. That is the OPPOSITE of what the Bible calls us to be: Overcomers. (See Revelation chapters 2 and 3).  

 

We don't want this feeling to turn sour. And yet, there is no shame in feeling lonely and I am coming to realize it is ok to feel this way. Many people seem to be able to relate. But I also tend to hold those feelings back because I don't want people to worry. Why worry when you could pray? Worry is a topic I may get into later, but all it does is slow you down and make the problem bigger than God. Bad idea. God is bigger than any problem and prayer is bigger than worry. Faith is bigger than fear. I got off on a little tangent there, but I needed to say those things. I hold back my feelings because I can't stand to see certain individuals worry. I know it is a waste of their time to worry so I simply don't discuss it. If however these individuals happen to read this: just remember, worry is unproductive and the idea of someone worrying about me makes me feel horrible and sick. I just do not like to see my loved ones in turmoil. 

Pray for me instead. Prayer in faith and in thankfulness is powerful. Your prayers would encourage me!     

 

So... back to the topic at hand: rather than wallow in loneliness, and let it go sour, I allow the Sweet Holy Spirit to come in and transform me. Rather than let it motivate me to seek comfort in the wrong places, I have determined to turn it all over to Jesus Christ and combat this feeling with the word of God which declares that I am COMPLETE IN HIM. I am complete, lacking nothing in Jesus. I am rich in Christ, who has all wisdom and all knowledge. Colossians chapter 2 talks all about that. I am a VICTOR in Jesus.

 

SO let's get practical. If I truly am complete in Christ that means I do not NEED those other things in life that I currently don't have.

I do not need a wife, or children, or home ownership,  or a car. I do not need a huge paycheque or a lot of close friends (I do not have a lot of close Christian friends outside of my family and my church.).

I need Jesus. HE makes my salvation and my walk complete.

His body, the church, helps me to grow every week. He is the Head of the Body (which includes all local churches)!

 

 I am VERY satisfied with what I currently have. I can honestly and truly say that.

 

But, of all those earthly things I mentioned there is only one thing I do desire: a wife. I want to be remarried, to a woman with a ministry mindset. Like me, she will be someone who has chosen to forgo the natural family in order to serve the spiritual family, the church. I believe we will be powerful in service to Christ, with little holding us back in this very troubled world (Luke 23:28-29). And yet... I remind my soul that according to Paul, I do not need a wife to be complete. The Bible says so. Paul lived that example. He chose not to marry (1 Corinthians 9).  

 

What I have come to realize is that when my emotions start going down the drain into feelings of loneliness, it is because I am starting to believe I am somehow incomplete. It is a LIE! I am not incomplete. Why? Because I received, and walk with, Jesus Christ!

Now of course I would still enjoy getting married again. But I don't depend on it like some kind of life-jacket in a sea of uncertainty.

No, instead, Christ is my steady rock upon whom I stand.
I keep running the race, and telling myself what God says about me: I am complete in Christ.  

 

I encourage you, and challenge you to do the same. Run the race set before you- be true to the call to fellowship with and walk with Jesus Christ. Declare Colossians 2:10 over your own life, as often as you need to. Ask Him for your desires, and ask Him to help you navigate the times of loneliness or depression. Those feelings will still exist from time to time. It is nothing to be ashamed of. It is part of the disciple's walk.

The difference is, we can now refuse to come to a wrong conclusion based on those feelings. We can now come to the correct conclusion, and declare with Paul:

 

¹⁰ And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. (Col. 2:10)

 

 God bless,

Pastor Curtis

Sun Apr 17 2016 2:31pm EST