Disconnected

I don’t know about you, but with so many avenues in our modern world to help us stay “connected” I can often feel ever so disconnected. I feel cut off from the world when there’s so many opportunities to unite.

Maybe you have friends and loved ones, but feel like you can never fully open up, feel understood or valued. You can list off your friends, but you don’t feel truly close and connected. You don’t feel known. You look around and see so many living “fairytale” lives that seem perfect and successful and you feel disconnected. Your life doesn’t match up. You feel like something is missing. Like your life doesn’t meet up to others expectations. Maybe your own expectations.

I’ve found that when God has finally brought a friend or a long-awaited opportunity in my life, it quickly dissipated and ended ever so abruptly. All hopes for my earnest waiting and prayers vanished. My path was disconnected from what I once had and it was a process to start all over again and find renewal. Time after time it took even more strength to get back up again and find courage to keep continuing on in faith.

It’s in times like these when I need to refocus my attention. What am I looking at for acceptance? What am I seeking for success? What am I looking for happiness in? Is it in people, fame, popularity, contentment, my identity, my status, labels others have of me?

In the areas that I felt as though God was ending all that seemed good in my life, I have to remember that when God disconnects my path, it’s for a great purpose. When God ended so many friendships, He was turning my gaze to rely on Him as my best Friend. When opportunities I desired came to a close, He was redirecting my path, allowing me to walk down a new path of potential.

When you look at your life and feel like yours doesn’t meet up to the success the world desires you to achieve, don’t allow Satan to destroy your determination. God desires us to lead a different life, and sometimes that may require us to feel like we don’t fit in with the world. Don’t grow discouraged, because great is your reward in heaven.

We may feel disconnected with the world we’re in, but God promises to draw near to us. We just have to make the effort to spend time with Him and draw near to Him too. God told us that in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). We will feel “disconnected” with the world, but it should be something to be valued.

As Christians, we shouldn’t blend in with the world. We may be rejected because we call ourselves a Christian. We may be deemed as “weird” because of what we believe. We may be unfairly treated because we live differently than the world, but never let that discourage you. Relish in the joy of your reward in heaven. Stand firm and keep following after God. Never tire of doing what is right.

You may feel like you don’t fit in with this world. It may seem like once you begin to feel connected, all ties are cut off. Spend time in prayer and tell God how you’re feeling. If you’re lonely, ask for God to supply friends to surround and encourage you. If you’re seeking direction or provision, take your needs to God. In times of incredible loneliness you can begin to feel isolated, but God can fill that emptiness with His presence when we call on Him for help.

We aren’t living this life to achieve approval from the world. We aren’t displaying our lives to be “liked” by the world. Our lives should be displaying God’s love and we should be living a life He would be proud of, whether it’s popular or not. Following God isn’t easy. It’s not popular. It’s tough. We will lose friends along the way because of what we believe. Our lives will look like we’re fools for our faith. We can remember that anything we do for God is never wasted. God recognizes our pain. He sees the courage it takes to persevere. Rest assured that He is using your darkest struggles to touch more people through your brokenness, rather than through your perfection. One day God will honor you for your commitment to Him, and it will be the greatest reward ever!