Loneliness (June Hunt Hope for the Heart) Read Online Free Page B

curses God, yet divine correction still needs to be dispensed. And with that comes a renewed understanding of the importance of submitting to the sovereignty of God, as well as a greater awareness that God’s faithful presence and fellowship are Job’s greatest blessings of all, even when he doesn’t understand or like what’s going on in his life.
    Your longing to belong is natural because God has placed within each of us a basic need for relationship with Him and with others. Don’t seek to dull the pain of loneliness by finding substitutes to fill the void. Seeking comfort in food, shopping, alcohol, illegal drugs, or sexual encounters may offer fleeting pleasure, but these will cause you emotional or physical harm in the long run. Instead of focusing on your personal need, refocus on your relationship with Christ, leaning on His understanding and drawing from His strength.
    “I have set the L ORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (Psalm 16:8)
W RONG B ELIEF:
    “I must have the love and acceptance of others to feel significant and to fulfill my need to belong.”
    “You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape.” (Psalm 88:8)
R IGHT B ELIEF:
    “I want to have meaningful relationships with others, but I must first cultivate real intimacy with the Lord, who is always with me and will never leave me. Only out of a secure relationship with Him can I courageously move toward others in love regardless of their responses toward me.”
    “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7–10)
God’s Plan of Salvation for You
Four Points of God’s Plan
    #1 God’s Purpose for You is Salvation.
    What was God’s motivation in sending Christ to earth?
    To express His love for you by saving you! The Bible says ...
    “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
(John 3:16–17)
    What was Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth?
    To forgive your sins, to empower you to have victory over sin, and to enable you to live a fulfilled life! Jesus said ...
    “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)
    #2 Your Problem is Sin.
    What exactly is sin?
    Sin is living independently of God’s standard—knowing what is right, but choosing what is wrong. The Bible says ...
    “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” (James 4:17)
    What is the major consequence of sin?
    Spiritual “death,” eternal separation from God. Scripture states ...
    “Your iniquities [sins] have separated you from your God. ... The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 6:23)
    #3 God’s Provision for You is the Savior.
    Can anything remove the penalty for sin?
    Yes! Jesus died on the cross to personally pay the penalty for your sins. The Bible says ...
    “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
    What is the solution to being separated from God?
    Believe in (entrust your life to) Jesus Christ as the only way to God the Father.
    Jesus says ...
    “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ... Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” (John 14:6; Acts 16:31)
    #4 Your Part is Surrender.
    Give Christ control of your life, entrusting yourself to Him.
    “Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he