For a moment, imagine somebody is pounding on your front door. You go to the door to see what is the matter and it’s a pair of friends. Once they see you peek through the curtain, one tells you to “Open up!” You now have the option to comply and open the door or if you refuse to open the door, they might press the issue and pound on the door even more and keep calling for you to let them in. True friends will not let you remain broken, but you will have to … open up.
Isolating is a symptom of depression. It is anti-social behavior. People who isolate do so out of a few different reasons:
1.) They may just hate people (which might just be the root cause of their depression) and they’d rather spend time with animals.
2.) They may struggle with ideas of their self-worth and/or have no tangible concept of who they really are.
3.) They may be afraid to share their thoughts or describe what they’re really going through for fear of “losing face.”
Isolating is a by-product of unforgiveness and resentment and can be dangerous because it leads us to shut out the very people who can - and want - to help. We typically shut people out of our lives because we have been hurt and have not healed, so we seek to eliminate the risk of being hurt again by pushing people away. The problem with that scenario is though we have sought to protect ourselves by erecting imaginary walls, we have paid a deep and high price for our loneliness.
It’s so easy for someone to comment on how we should have managed things, even life, but to walk in another man’s shoes before we condemn him? Hmm. You might consider how it’s easy to offer advice to someone when you’ve been through the same things as that person. Pray that God would send you someone who understands you and, when that person enters your personal space, feel free to truly open up.
“16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
Prayer
Holy, Righteous, Almighty God, You are the One I look to for all my answers and cures. Jesus, You alone have paid the price for my sins and my mistakes and redeemed me from the curse of the Law. I ask that You would bring the right people into my life and remove the people from my life who don’t need to be here. Encourage me, Lord, so I will receive the right people in the right way. Help me to love my neighbor as myself even when that person has hurt me and/or my loved ones.
I open up my life to You, my Lord, and I ask that You would find the joy in me where I have hidden it seeing as that I forgot where I put it. I have built my imaginary walls even against You and I have chosen to shrink back from the life You made for me to live. I repent of, renounce, and reject having rejected Your plans and erected walls to keep people out. I see now how I have hurt myself every bit as much as others have hurt me — and even more in some instances. I confess I have hated on people who have hurt me and have struggled with my self-worth. I know You don’t create junk and I have value far beyond what I currently comprehend. I confess I have been overly concerned about what people have thought about me, as well. Help me mature beyond worrying about what people think of me and even rebelling to the point of fully rejecting what people think based on my hatred of them.
I admit I really had no idea of how to deal with these awful feelings of pain and anger, so I did what seemed right to me. Your ways are best and I choose today to follow them as You guide me. Please help me to tear down these walls and open up. Have Your way in me, Lord, and lead me by Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Banner photo by Paulita at Pexels