1 Peter 5:9 - Breaking the Stranglehold of Isolation

Solitude can be a good thing; a time to rest from social interaction. A respite from conversation with people so one can simply listen to God. 

Isolation is another matter, though. Isolation means we're somehow cut off from others.

The obvious example is physical isolation during this pandemic--especially for people laid up in hospitals or living in nursing homes, existing with some degree or type of quarantine.

Isolation can also be emotional or spiritual. Even while interacting with people, one may feel all alone, that no one genuinely understands what we think or feel. Tension or tragedy intensify such feelings of isolation.

Satan likes to attack the solitary believer who has no one near at hand to help fight off such discouragements. He would use isolation to say, "See... you're all alone. Give up. It's useless." That's the kind of taunting that Jesus faced on the Cross.

Peter advises:
"But resist [the devil], firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world." (1 Peter 5:9, New American Standard Bible, 1995)

"Misery loves company" is a secular way of putting it, though in a negative light.

Yet the truth is that whatever struggle we face (even isolation), there are others who have faced or are facing the same struggles we encounter.

If you are isolated and cut off from others, whether physically or emotionally, you're not alone. Even in experiencing isolation, we can find comfort in knowing that others are battling the same challenges.

Father in heaven, Sometimes isolation has the potential to overwhelm us. Give us power to resist the ways that Satan would use isolation to discourage us. And for those who are going through periods of isolation, give them the same encouragements that we request for ourselves.
Thank you for the reminder that we're not alone. In Jesus' name, Amen.