Summary
The Fear of Being Alone
Scripture shows two very different kinds of aloneness. There is the chosen solitude of Jesus, who rose early to pray in a deserted place, withdrew by boat to a solitary place, and slipped into a house where He did not wish to be known. Set against that holy retreat is another aloneness no one chooses: the dread of being forsaken, unnoticed, uncared for. The Bible names this experience plainly. Noah preached for 120 years without a convert. Hagar and Ishmael were cast into the desert. David cried in Psalm 142:4, "There is no one who takes notice of me. No refuge remains to me. No one cares for me." Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:16, "At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me."
That same ache wears modern faces: the patient who has no one to list as an emergency contact; the spouse returning to a silent house after divorce papers are signed or after a funeral; the mother gazing out the nursing home window for visitors who never come; the believer standing for truth while everyone else drifts with the tide; the new child watching the lunchroom clock and wondering who will sit beside him. The feeling is real, and along with it can come a deeper terror—the fear of being alone itself.
Psalm 139 answers that fear at its root. David first marvels at God's omniscience: the Lord knows our sitting and our rising, our thoughts from afar, every word before it is on our tongue. Then he turns to God's omnipresence: "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!" There is nowhere David could go to escape God's nearness. The pastoral conclusion is direct: we do not need to fear being alone, because we are never alone. This is the heart of the teaching in Alone: "Fear of Being Alone".
This abiding presence would be terrifying news—God knows every hidden sin and every secret intention—except for the gospel. Rather than abandoning sinners He has every right to abandon, the Father sent the Son. Jesus bore our sin on the cross, and in the waters of Holy Baptism we are clothed in His righteousness. So when Christ promises in Matthew 28:20, "I am with you always, to the end of the age," it is good news, not a threat. The same comfort echoes in Isaiah 41:10, Hebrews 13:5–6, and John 14:17: the Spirit "abides with you and will be in you."
But being never alone is not the same as never feeling lonely. David himself prayed in Psalm 25:16, "Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted." This is the prayer of someone who already knows God is with him. The widow who trusts the Lord still aches for her spouse. The child whose parent reminded him "God will be with you" still feels the weight of the lunchroom. The Christian standing against the cultural tide still feels the cold of standing nearly alone. Loneliness is not a sign of weak faith; it is part of life this side of glory. And in it, the One who is always with us does not leave us to bear it by ourselves—He comforts us until the day we see Hebrews 13:5 fulfilled in heavenly fullness.
Until that day, God also calls us to be instruments of His divine presence to others. Look for the one who stands alone—in the neighborhood, in the pew, in the lunchroom, in the nursing home hallway. A simple "Welcome" spoken to a stranger can carry the nearness of Christ to someone who feels forgotten. The promise of Psalm 139:10 remains: "Your right hand shall hold me fast." Fear not.
Video citations
- Alone: "Fear of Being Alone" 2-9-25 — Would you open your Bible's please with me to Psalm 139? Psalm 139, if you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture, you're going to find that in the Old Testament on page 540, Psalm 139. It was…