This book really drives home the point that if we are lonely it is only to drive us into the arms of the Father. It isn't full of a ton of stuff I haven't heard before but it was a decent read.

I found this to be a helpful book, but maybe doesn't go far enough in the practical advice. I appreciated her biblical point of view, if it was a bit uneven at times.

Being a single mom for 18 years and choosing to not date until God sends me the right man He has chosen for me, has left me with years of dealing with loneliness. The author helped me see my loneliness in a different more positive light!

Sometimes desperation is the door through which faith enters.

With over 6.1 billion people in the world today, who would be lonely. Lydia Brownback takes you on the journey of what loneliness is and how when we have many people around, we find ourselves lonely. How do we get this way? What is the Church's role in loneliness? If you find yourself battling the feelings of loneliness, I think you will be encouraged by the wisdom of Lydia and if this is not your battle, this will help you be an encouragement to others that battle loneliness. I think it is important because loneliness can affect our spiritual well being and our mental well being.

The text is done in three parts-
Loneliness Reinforced -What causes loneliness. Isolation, sin, fear, lack of faith
Loneliness Realized - Where loneliness takes place-in marriage, singleness, etc.
Loneliness Redeemed- Belonging to a church family.

Our expectations not being met can cause our feelings of loneliness and in turn cause us to isolate ourselves and affect how we love others and God. What are we thirsting for? Brownback's use of the word is soothing to the soul. Every chapter is gospel saturated with the scripture and insight that is easily missed. Our misunderstanding of our desires and needs leads to idolatry and becomes a breeding ground for our loneliness.

I learned something about myself with this study and I am encouraged with the continued hope of redemption. God redeems all things. We just have to give it to him.


Hence, all earthly treasure!
Jesus is my Pleasure
Jesus is my Choice.
Hence, all empty glory!
Naught to me thy story
Told with tempting voice.
Pain or loss, or shame or cross,
Shall not from my Savior move me.
Since He deigns to love me.
Evil world, I leave thee;
Thou canst not deceive me,
Thine appeal is vain.
Sin that once did blind me,
Get thee far behind me,
Come not forth again.
Past thy hour, O pride and power;
Sinful life, thy bonds I sever,
Leave thee now forever
From: Jesus Priceless Treasure

Highly recommend.

A Special Thank You to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

A very quick read, but also meaningful. I do think I read it a little too fast and so I want to reread someday. I liked how the book explained that no matter where you are in life, you can and will experience loneliness. Some people think that if only they were married, they wouldn't be lonely anymore...and that just isn't true -- as one of the chapters in this book showcases.

All in all, very good and eyeopening at times. I recommend it!

*I received a complimentary eBook copy via NetGalley for my honest review.*

I liked reading this book, It really does help with aloneness and loneliness, which I learned where two different things. This book helps you understand that God never created marriage as a way to cure loneliness, but as a way for you not be alone. He wants you to be lonely, so you can always seek Him out. Such a great and inspiration book.

The opening of this book is powerful. It made me excited to read this book. Brownback articulated many things that I have felt and experienced but hadn’t put words to. It helped me. It really blasts away some of the falsehoods we believe about loneliness. For instance, we often think that married people aren’t lonely because they have someone there all the time….or that others we know aren’t lonely because they put up so many happy posts on social media. We don’t realize that EVERYONE deals with loneliness at times. We are not unique in this. Brownback states, “God created human beings with a capacity for loneliness so that we would yearn for and find our all in him:
In Genesis 2 God ordains the marriage of male and female as another aspect of his design for our aloneness. Yet he never designed marriage to fulfill the incompleteness or eradicate the aloneness. Rather, it more fully reveals our need for our ultimate destiny-to be in union with him” (location 59).
Marriage…a design for our aloneness…and a pointer to our need to be in union with God? I had never thought of marriage in this way and found it challenging my paradigm a bit. The whole book was very thought provoking.
She talked about how all the freedoms and options we have can increase our loneliness. “Because we no longer have to stay in one place and do life with the people also staying in this place, we don’t make commitments” (location 99).
“The god of open options is a cruel and vindictive god...He promises you that by keeping your options open, you can have everything and everyone. But in the end, you get nothing and no one” (location 105) We engage in the push and pull of relationships….not wanting others to get close enough to hurt us but not wanting them to stop being an “option” either. I am around a lot of teenagers on a regular basis and I hear this kind of talk all the time. “Do you want to hang out this week?” “Maybe….if I’m not busy (read here – if no better option comes along) then I might come over…” We are more connected than ever (via technology) and, I believe, more lonely than ever.
Brownback talks about the various things we do to try to escape from loneliness and how they often breed more loneliness. Instead of trying to escape from it, she talks about redeeming it.
I could go on and on. This book challenged me and made me think about some of my own “coping mechanisms.” It encouraged me and made me excited. It is a book I will come back to often. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Thank you to Crossway for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Finding God in My Loneliness Lydia Brownback Published by Crossway Books
I was in my second year of college many years ago but I still remember a brief conversation I had with a classmate in this Christian college. He was the one I remember for the Christian mottoes in his room so I should have known I was going to hear a motto that day but I was lonely and desperate. So I said, “I am really lonely” and he replied, “You are never alone with Jesus”.
This is one of those phrases that I now label truthful but not helpful. Yes Jesus promised never to leave us or forsake us but that truth did not relieve the loneliness I was experiencing at that moment and many times since. I would have benefitted more if my classmate had said, “There is a book by Lydia Brownback that you may find helpful”. Lydia Brownback had not started writing yet so I was on my own.
Few people want to talk about loneliness (maybe because we fear being put down). Few people want to read about it. Few people want to admit it so this book is both courageous and personal. This is not just about loneliness out there somewhere. The title is Finding God in My Loneliness. That’s personal.
Lydia Brownback is honest in reminding us that some loneliness is of our own making. For example she writes that “a great deal of loneliness comes from either a reluctance or an outright unwillingness to follow Jesus”. I have to admit that I was ready to put the book down at this point because I have experienced loneliness because I decided to follow Jesus. I don’t need any more guilt.
Thankfully, I kept on reading and was reminded that loneliness comes from living away from home. We are not in Eden. Loneliness began in the garden and in some measure we will experience loneliness until we finally arrive home. And loneliness isn’t all bad.
In chapter 2 the author responds to the lies of loneliness. The first of these lies is that loneliness is pure evil. In addressing this lie Lydia reminds us that loneliness can lead us to Christ. I made this discovery on my own when I went through a temporary career change and I can testify to the intimacy with Christ gained through that lonely time.
She goes on to talk about other lies about loneliness before moving on in Part 2 to different reasons for loneliness. Among the reasons or types of loneliness are the loneliness of leaving, the loneliness of night, the loneliness of obedience (Yes it can happen) the loneliness of grief, and the loneliness of marriage.
In telling the story of Abraham we reminded of the loneliness that comes from leaving and the loneliness of obedience. We are reminded of the loneliness of Joseph whose obedience got him thrown in jail where he waited for God to do what God had promised. Along the way we read about the loneliness of the unclean and the loneliness that comes from being different.
My college years are a distant memory and I have matured in many ways but there is still something in me that dreams of going back to that classmate holding up this book and giving him my best raspberry. Loneliness is the dues we pay for living on this planet until it is redeemed. “God created us in such a way that we are complete only in and with him, which is why it is not until we have been perfected in glory that we will be forever free from the feeling that something is missing—that thing we call loneliness”.
This book would be a great resource for a Bible study and each chapter ends with questions for reflection. I know there are lonely people who would benefit by reading this book especially with a group of understanding and supportive fellow travelers.
I received a copy of this book from netgalley.com with the understanding I would write a review.

Very helpful book about loneliness.!
This book is just what I needed, sometimes I feel lonely and tired but this book gave me new perspective about loneliness.
This book covers a lot of topics and covers them well:
The loneliness of leaving
The loneliness of night
The loneliness of obedience
The loneliness of running away
The loneliness of grief
The loneliness of being different
The loneliness of being unclean
The loneliness of misplaced love
The loneliness of marriage
The loneliness of being unmarried

I really recommended for everyone, not just for the single, because even within marriage people can be lonely.

I requested this book, first, because it was religious (or spiritual) .. however you wish to coin it. And then I thought, why am I interested in this book? I'm not lonely. I'm married. I'm not alone in life. And then, I started reading it and I realized I'm a lot lonelier than I even knew. It wasn't about having someone along side you -- it was about my journey as a person. My Faith journey, my relationship with God. Suddenly, the book was speaking volumes to me! I really enjoyed it and I came away from it, with something to hold on to and something to work toward. Wonderful read.