“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3, ESV)

Today I had to take a hard look at how I am living. Like many people in this technological day and age, I often find myself living virtually instead of living actually. My “best friends” tend to be my phone, my television, and my computer. Much of my daily interaction seems to be with machines rather than with people. The scariest part is that until today, it seemed like a good idea.

I live alone, and it can be kind of quiet sometimes. The lack of interaction and isolation can be very difficult for me. I get lonely. I thought I was learning to adjust to this solitary existence. I thought I was actually learning to cope quite well. I realized today that I was not dealing with it as well as I thought.

As I look back over the time I have lived by myself, I can see that I have tried desperately to create opportunities for interaction and communication so I won’t feel so alone. At first that meant calling friends and family incessantly. Eventually, I realized that I was burdening them, and I started to back off. But I still had alone time that needed to be filled.

I started reading, blogging, and watching TV to fill in the time. Then I got a smart phone. Now I can play games, pseudo-interact on Facebook, and text all day long, often while I’m reading, blogging, and watching TV. In lieu of real connections, I have become sucked into the world of virtual relationship.

Even now, I am blogging to a potential audience that includes anyone who is connected to the internet, but in reality I am writing to no one. It feels like I am communicating because I am sharing, but there is really no true interaction. It lacks the personal because I am not interacting with a person. I am only interacting with my computer.

All of this may not seem too odd in today’s world, but it has become very unhealthy for me. I have a hard time enjoying real relationships. I am so often connected to my virtual world that I have even started choosing it as a source of comfort when I could be enjoying the people around me. Living in a virtual world is not living, it is dying. It kills emotion, and it will eventually destroy other relationships.

This substitute for real relationship is detrimental because my mind is focused on something other than God. It is idol worship. God alone should be my hope and stay. “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3, ESV)

The Prophet Jeremiah while crying out, feeling isolated, alone, and shattered remembers God. This remembrance is where I will find my hope. In this passage I find the key to change. If I apply this truth, I will be restored to true and right relationships, first with God and then with others.

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” (Lamentations 3:21–26, ESV)

My habits and life will change if I hope in the Lord, seek the Lord and wait quietly for the Lord. To wait quietly will be quite difficult for me, but thank God, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, ESV)