Avoiding the Devil’s Playground

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Psalm 68:6

God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

(NLT)

It has been said that loneliness is the Devil’s playground.  Perhaps this is the reason Psalm 68:6 reminds us that God places the lonely in families.  In Genesis 2:18, after creating the universe including man, God makes an interesting statement, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”  After failing to find a suitable companion for man among the animals of His creation (Genesis 2:19-20), God creates Woman (Genesis 2:21-22). 

Technology is wonderful for it makes it possible for people to stay connected over great distances.  It also makes it possible for someone to start a blog and share with people all over the globe.  While this increased connectivity over distances is nothing short of miraculous, it does not replace the need in all of us for one-on-one connectivity with others.  This is especially true for those of us that believe in Christ and serve as ambassadors in an ungodly world. 

In this world of high connectivity one would expect loneliness and depression to be on the decline.  However, this is not the case.  According to Johannah Cornblatt, while social media makes it seem like all 300 million of us living in the United States are friends on Facebook, the sad truth is Americans are lonelier than ever.  Between 1985 and 2004, the number of people claiming to have no one to discuss important issues with tripled to 25 percent.  (1)

This increase of social isolation has contributed to increased physical and mental ailments including, sleep disorders, high blood pressure, and an increased risk of depression and suicide.  (1)  While there are more individuals living alone in the United States, the connection between this and increased loneliness is actually weak for some of the loneliest people are people that are surrounded with others.  While social media does make us more connected, connections via social media are superficial and do not provide lasting satisfaction and relief from loneliness.  Almost 2000 years ago, the author of the Book of Hebrews said it well when he cautioned people not to neglect meeting together but to meet together to provide encouragement for each other (Hebrews10:25).  In the first portion of Hebrews10:25, the writer writes “as some people do.”  This leads us to conclude that even at the time of the writing of Hebrews, a time when there was no social media, isolation and people not realizing the importance of meeting together was an issue. 

We all face challenges in our lives, something Jesus warned us about in John 16:33.  When we isolate ourselves from others in these times of trouble we enter the devil’s playground of loneliness and he begins to play with our minds, making us begin to believe our troubles are unique and greater than anything anyone else has ever experienced.  This isolation can also make us begin to believe God has forsaken us and does not love us anymore.  Staying in the devil’s playground of loneliness will then result in our losing faith in God contributing to depression and myriad of associated physical problems. 

The only way to escape this playground of the Devil is to have a trusted friend we can go to and openly share what is bugging us.  We all need a friend that will pray with us and for us.  However, we cannot wait till trouble starts to find this someone but must regularly associate with other believers so that when trouble comes we can pick up the phone or go over to talk with our trusted friend and have them pray for us.  In this instance, an ounce of prevention by knowing someone before trouble strikes is worth a pound of cure.  In this way, we can avoid the devil’s playground of loneliness. 

Many Christians today are part of large mega churches.  While there is nothing wrong with a mega church that has grown through spreading the Gospel, they are places where lonely people can go and blend in, unfortunately leaving as lonely as when they came in.  I therefore urge people attending these large congregations to become part of a small group if their church has such groups and if not to form one themselves. 

This can be done through Facebook by setting up an event and inviting your Facebook friends to gather together.  This event can be a Bible study, prayer group, a game night, or even just a social gathering over coffee or a meal.  Make sure people attending these small events understand that no one will judge them so they feel open to share any troubles going on in their lives. 

Meeting together in small groups is the best way to avoid the Devils playground of loneliness and something I want to encourage all my readers to begin doing. 

1. Cornblatt, Johannah. LONELY PLANET: ISOLATION INCREASES IN US. www.newsweek.com. [Online] Newsweek, August 20, 2009. [Cited: April 8, 2017.] http://www.newsweek.com/lonely-planet-isolation-increases-us-78647.