While walking through the campus of a major university I noticed that nearly everyone had one. With books, computers, cell phones, and their lunch to carry, they had to have one. I’m talking about backpacks. It appeared that backpacks were standard equipment for getting though the day.

As I sat and watched the river of students flowing from building to building, I wondered what they might be carrying in the backpacks of their minds. Were they carrying weighty thoughts of an upcoming exam or maybe the burden of homesickness? Were they carrying worrisome fears about future employment or lingering guilt from last night’s party?

The weight of loneliness

Some appeared to be weighted down by loneliness. King David carried the backpack of loneliness too: “Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” David was treated unfairly and alienated by friends, foes, and family. He felt the weight of loneliness. He slept in caves to avoid a jealous king. Then he was lonely at the top, as it was up to him to make high-level decisions. He was alone with his guilt in the post-Bathsheba cover-up. It seems like David’s backpack of loneliness was heavy for much of his life.

Weren’t there enough people around for David to avoid loneliness? If one could avoid loneliness by simply being around more people, loneliness would be extinct today. The world’s population has grown by billions since David’s day, and yet loneliness is rampant. Merely having more people around isn’t the answer.

A child will carry his backpack of loneliness to the baseball game that his mom and dad were too busy to watch. The unpopular kid at school watches the “cool” kids play together without him. He’s lonely. A wife carries her backpack of loneliness around the house as her husband watches TV; he’s neglected intimacy for years. They’re still together . . . but she’s alone. You’ll find backpacks of loneliness at the country club and in the boardroom. You’ll find them with workaholics and alcoholics. You’ll find them next to the bed of a one-night stand. You’ll find them next to the chairs of the elderly, as they stare out the window wondering why the kids don’t visit.

A burden carried by our Savior

“Turn to me and be gracious to me,” the king prays. God hadn’t turned away from David and withheld his grace from him. But in his loneliness and affliction David is reminded of his need for what he always had . . . the loving presence of God. That is the silver lining in the dark cloud of lonely solitude. We turn anew to the face of God that has been shining upon us.