Connect360: I Am Not Alone 

• Lesson 8 in the Connect360 unit “Praise Him in the Storm: When Life Falls Apart” focuses on Job 19:13-19.

Loneliness is a visitor who shows up unannounced, complete with extended-stay luggage. The unwelcomed intruder invades our experiences with depression and anxiety. Thus, we feel empty, isolated and hollow. Loneliness represents the fact we are uniquely human. Even as children of God, loneliness creeps up on us, and we end up where Job finds himself in our lesson: feeling isolated, unloved and alone.

In this lesson, Job investigated the actions of his inner circle: Starting with his family, then moving out to those who worked for him, Job spoke about how his friends and neighbors viewed him personally. Job was not alone, but he felt alone. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever looked around a crowded room only to discover you—and only you—understood what was really going on? This was Job’s problem in our lesson today.

Job knew he had done no wrong in his dealings with others or in his relationship with God (1:1). But the loneliness brought on by hardship was too much for Job to bear. Someone had to be responsible for all these horrific events. So, Job blamed God.

Can you see Job on his bed of affliction surrounded by people who cared for him? Can you understand why Job’s heart felt so betrayed and isolated? The sights, sounds, smells and atmosphere of near-death permeated Job’s room. Job actually believed God had forsaken him.

As Job described his pain, notice how he attached descriptions or evidence of abandonment from his closest relatives. Can you feel Job’s pain? By Job’s account, his relatives had deserted him, and his closest friends had forgotten about him. No one will ever be able to argue your perception because your perception is reality—in your own thinking. Job’s observations of alienation, estrangement and abandonment were real to him.

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