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Confronting Loneliness and Depression at Christmas

I’m also thankful for the Christian community God gave me in NYC. I wasn’t the only one removed from family traditions and away from home during the holidays. And there was always someone who was at home there and invited me to join their family for a feast. I could have turned them down and chosen instead to feed my loneliness, but something inside me knew that I needed them more than I wanted to admit.

  • I needed the fellowship of a family, a place where I could rest and receive comfort and joy from others.
  • I needed to share my story with people who cared about me and could prayerfully encourage me to press on.
  • I needed grace to help in my time of need.

And that need brought me (and still brings me) to the throne of God. Even if I’d never found a family to share Christmas with, if I’d never had the chance to worship at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, I had my place as a child of God. I belong to Christ. And He is also mine. We are family, we are one. And with Him I will always be home.

I pray for those among us who are lonely and hurting this holiday season to be comforted by peace in knowing Jesus Christ. I pray that God would provide relief to aching hearts as He sets the solitary in families. He’s done that for me and I know He’s faithful to be near to the brokenhearted and save those whose spirits are crushed.

Let Him do that for you, friends. Let Him carry you through this difficult holiday season by joining you with other believers in worship, as you fellowship together around the table of our King. Trust Him to care for you. And don’t be afraid to tell someone else that you need them. It’s OK to invite yourself.

Let Him Use You to Care for Others Who Are Lonely
Find someone who’s lonely and invite them to be at home with you, to join you in gathered worship with your church family. Share the peace and comfort of Christ with others who are so desperate for it. Let’s show hospitality without grumbling, but with generous grace in the same way that we have received hospitable, generous grace from our Savior King.

Mercy, love and peace be yours in abundance this holiday season.

This article originally appeared here.