Book Review: Loneliness

Elisabeth Elliot is well-known in Christian circles, primarily as the widow of Jim Elliot, one of five missionaries martyred in Ecuador by the Aucas. Many people are not aware that her second husband was taken from her by illness. In addition to these two seasons of widowhood, Elisabeth also spent many years as a single person prior to her marriage to Jim. Her life experiences, combined with her lifelong study of the Scriptures, qualify her to write about the topic of Loneliness.

She states that God designed people to enjoy companionship with each other as well as with God. After sin marred God’s beautiful plan, people find themselves lonely. They seek to fill their need in various disappointing ways without realizing that only God can truly assuage the loneliness or that God has purposes for their loneliness. Whether caused by rejection, singleness, an unhappy marriage, widowhood, divorce, or an empty nest, the pain of loneliness ought to be a force that drives one to God.

Elisabeth mentions the need to love God more than anyone else. In our trust of Him, an important part of dealing with the loss of loneliness is recognizing that God habitually uses death (or loss) as the starting place for new birth and new beginnings. When loneliness is accepted as a gift from God, one designed to contribute to His good plan, the lonely life can be offered back to God with the intention of serving Him through it. “Our loneliness cannot always be fixed, but it can always be accepted as the very will of God for now, and that turns it into something beautiful.” What seems to be only a burden can become the means of great blessing when it is used in the way that God intends. “If God had eliminated the problem He would have eliminated the particular kind of blessing which it bears.”

The author uses both personal stories and those of others to illustrate the various truths that she presents. While her tendency toward an older style of writing and her inclusion of certain poems and quotations of earlier eras can at times hinder clarity, there is much helpful truth that can be easily gleaned from her writings. The book demonstrates the heart of one who has developed both sensitivity to God and compassion for others. Loneliness was published in 1988 by Oliver Nelson, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers.