25 Scriptures for Christians struggling with loneliness

This is not an article for “Christian singles.” You can feel lonely in any circumstance, at any age, even when you are surrounded by people, even when you are in a relationship, or when you have many friends and acquaintances. Loneliness is the soul feeling isolated from meaningful human connections, feeling misunderstood, out of place, etc.

Interestingly, the Bible doesn’t say anything directly about loneliness. However, this doesn’t mean that we can’t use Scripture to help us deal with these feelings. Here we’ve broken this up into a few different effective ways of doing so.

1.   Get a vision for the heavenly things

Don’t fill your loneliness with empty and meaningless things that play on your soul and intensify your isolation. Even things that are not necessarily evil can actually harm you by the reactions they cause in you.

Seek for heavenly fulfillment, instead of looking for it in earthly things.

Look to the reward – even if you continue to “feel” lonely, you know that your time on earth is temporary, God will see you through it, and in the end you will be with your Saviour eternally, and will have fellowship with Him and the saints.

2 Corinthians 4:17

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Psalm 17:15

“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”

Colossians 3:1-4

“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

2.   Trust in God and seek a meaningful connection with Him

God is faithful and no matter how you feel, no matter if everyone leaves you, no matter how alone you are, He is there. He loves you more than you could ever possibly know or comprehend. It may seem like a Christian cliché, but it’s absolutely true that your relationship with God can fulfill all of your need. Seek Him and you will personally experience His love for you.

Isaiah 49:16

“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.”

Psalm 139:7-10

“Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.”

Psalm 16:11

“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Isaiah 58:11

“The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

Matthew 6:33

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Philippians 4:19

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

James 4:8

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Joshua 1:5-6

“… as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage …”

Psalm 121: 7-8

“The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore.”

Isaiah 41:10

“Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 43:1-2

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.”

Matthew 11:28

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

3.   Work for meaningful connections instead of waiting for them to come to you

It can be easy to relish the role of victim, to think no one has it as hard as I do, to believe the reasons Satan feeds us to make us think that is true, and actually indulge in self-pity. When the temptation comes to sit by yourself and wallow in your own feelings, rather overcome them and go out and do something with and/or for others. This builds love, unity, brotherhood and fellowship.

Galatians 6:2

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

John 15:13

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

Philippians 2:3-4

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

1 John 1:7

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

4.     The body of Christ

The body of Christ is the best antidote to loneliness. All those who follow Christ and have been baptized with one Spirit are the body of Christ. In the body we become one despite our differences; we have fellowship in the Spirit even when alone. We are of one mind, one spirit, one purpose, and have one goal. If you devote yourself to the building of the body of Christ through personal faithfulness, God will ensure that you find your place and your ministry within it.

Romans 12:5

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.”

1 Corinthians 12:12

“For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many are one body, so also is Christ.”

1 Corinthians 12:26

“And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.”

Ephesians 2:19-22

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

Ephesians 4:11-13

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

With God beside us and His Spirit to guide us we can navigate the waters of loneliness and come into the rest and peace that comes from giving up all efforts to satisfy my human desires and giving myself entirely over to God.