Perfectly Lonely
John Mayer is one of my favorite artists. Ever. His smooth voice mixed with his intriguing lyrics have made him a favorite of mine for years now. And, of course, there is no disappointment in his newest album, Battle Studies. As I was listening to him this afternoon his song "Perfectly Lonely" grabbed me and I couldn't help but dissect his lyrics in light of Scripture. The song talks about heartbreaks, in and out of relationships, and finally just remaining single. He says to this "nothing to do, no one but me...and that's all I need."
When his friends question how he's doing he says again:
"nothing to do, no one but me, a simple little kind of free.
nothing to do, no one but me, is it really hard to see why I'm perfectly lonely?"
The chorus goes like this:
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely, yeah
'Cause I don't belong to anyone, nobody belongs to me.
I was just blown away by how opposite this is for a believer. Life is about ups and downs; heartbreaks and joys; sufferings and deep contentment; there is life and death, compassion and abuse, fear, rejection, hope...
For an unbeliever, its just like this song says "no one but me, and that's all I need." We live in a culture that is all about self-preservation and self-exaltation. We seek to please ourselves and ourselves above all others. We seek to be involved in things or be around people who can help us or further our own gain. Whether we want to admit it or not, we believe the world revolves around ourselves. We live in a sinful world that is broken, but instead of addressing the brokenness, we go the opposite direction in our pride by saying, "I'm fine." - "I don't need anybody." - "I've got this" believing we are our own rock and support, believing we rule our world and we make ourselves our own gods- when in reality...it's Jesus who we need. It's Jesus who is our Rock. Our Strength. Our Support. Our Hope. The one and only Ruler and King and Authority - our God.
For a believer, Our lives are marked by the blood poured out on the cross of Calvary. We realize that nothing about this life is about us or our own "happiness" but is entirely, 100% about the King Eternal. We know our own depravity and need for a Savior. We know our calling as ambassadors (Ephesians 6:19-20) and ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 15). We are marked by our sanctification and the temporariness of this life. We are marked by Jesus' Christ ultimate suffering that became our atonement, our hope for the life to come. WE NEED JESUS. The book of Psalms are FULL of His promises to us, as His children, when we turn to Him. When we need Him.
We need Him:
to save: Psalm 69 (He is our Savior!)
to listen: Psalm 142:1-2 (He is our Refuge!)
in weakness: Psalm 6 (He is our Deliverer!)
when the enemy attacks: Psalm 73 (He is our Strength!)
when people betray us: Psalm 27 (He removes fear! He takes us in!)
to love us: Psalm 33 (He loves STEADFASTLY, forever)
to cleanse us, make us pure: Psalm 51 (He REMOVES our sin!)
to praise: Psalm 138 (He fills us with joy!)
WE NEED HIM AND APART FROM HIM WE ARE NOTHING.
Working with youth I see the phrase "I don't belong to anyone, nobody belongs to me" come alive. Because of the broken world we live in, there IS abuse. There's rejection. There's parents who desert their families. Best friends betray. Spouses cheat. We lie and steal and abandon. Of course we're immediately going to say "I don't belong to anyone..." I can't tell you how often I've thought that! But it is so so so far from the truth.
If you are believer, your salvation began with a sense of belonging. God the Father ADOPTED YOU! That means He CHOSE you - He chose to bring you into His family. He chose to have you share in His inheritance. He chose to allow you to partake in His sufferings so that you are made more like Him. He chooses to discipline you as if you were His own son (or daughter.) He CHOSE to have you belong to His family.
WE BELONG TO JESUS. And nothing or no one will EVER SEPARATE YOU FROM HIM.
Romans 8:39 says, "I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, no things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will ever be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Pretty sure that covers everything. Do you get that? Do we understand that? Jesus loves us so deeply and so intimately (in spite of knowing EVERYTHING about us - psalm 139 - yet promises us that He will never leave us and His love will never waver. ever.)
John 10:27-30 says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will NEVER perish, and no one will ever snatch them our of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is GREATER THAN ALL, and no one is able to snatch them our of the Father's hand. I and the Father are ONE."
Can there be any greater promise? We belong to Jesus and in that union, He belongs to us and is in us. No longer do we have to be "perfectly lonely."
We have Jesus. And He is all we need.
When his friends question how he's doing he says again:
"nothing to do, no one but me, a simple little kind of free.
nothing to do, no one but me, is it really hard to see why I'm perfectly lonely?"
The chorus goes like this:
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely
I'm perfectly lonely, yeah
'Cause I don't belong to anyone, nobody belongs to me.
I was just blown away by how opposite this is for a believer. Life is about ups and downs; heartbreaks and joys; sufferings and deep contentment; there is life and death, compassion and abuse, fear, rejection, hope...
For an unbeliever, its just like this song says "no one but me, and that's all I need." We live in a culture that is all about self-preservation and self-exaltation. We seek to please ourselves and ourselves above all others. We seek to be involved in things or be around people who can help us or further our own gain. Whether we want to admit it or not, we believe the world revolves around ourselves. We live in a sinful world that is broken, but instead of addressing the brokenness, we go the opposite direction in our pride by saying, "I'm fine." - "I don't need anybody." - "I've got this" believing we are our own rock and support, believing we rule our world and we make ourselves our own gods- when in reality...it's Jesus who we need. It's Jesus who is our Rock. Our Strength. Our Support. Our Hope. The one and only Ruler and King and Authority - our God.
For a believer, Our lives are marked by the blood poured out on the cross of Calvary. We realize that nothing about this life is about us or our own "happiness" but is entirely, 100% about the King Eternal. We know our own depravity and need for a Savior. We know our calling as ambassadors (Ephesians 6:19-20) and ministers of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 15). We are marked by our sanctification and the temporariness of this life. We are marked by Jesus' Christ ultimate suffering that became our atonement, our hope for the life to come. WE NEED JESUS. The book of Psalms are FULL of His promises to us, as His children, when we turn to Him. When we need Him.
We need Him:
to save: Psalm 69 (He is our Savior!)
to listen: Psalm 142:1-2 (He is our Refuge!)
in weakness: Psalm 6 (He is our Deliverer!)
when the enemy attacks: Psalm 73 (He is our Strength!)
when people betray us: Psalm 27 (He removes fear! He takes us in!)
to love us: Psalm 33 (He loves STEADFASTLY, forever)
to cleanse us, make us pure: Psalm 51 (He REMOVES our sin!)
to praise: Psalm 138 (He fills us with joy!)
WE NEED HIM AND APART FROM HIM WE ARE NOTHING.
Working with youth I see the phrase "I don't belong to anyone, nobody belongs to me" come alive. Because of the broken world we live in, there IS abuse. There's rejection. There's parents who desert their families. Best friends betray. Spouses cheat. We lie and steal and abandon. Of course we're immediately going to say "I don't belong to anyone..." I can't tell you how often I've thought that! But it is so so so far from the truth.
If you are believer, your salvation began with a sense of belonging. God the Father ADOPTED YOU! That means He CHOSE you - He chose to bring you into His family. He chose to have you share in His inheritance. He chose to allow you to partake in His sufferings so that you are made more like Him. He chooses to discipline you as if you were His own son (or daughter.) He CHOSE to have you belong to His family.
WE BELONG TO JESUS. And nothing or no one will EVER SEPARATE YOU FROM HIM.
Romans 8:39 says, "I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, no things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will ever be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Pretty sure that covers everything. Do you get that? Do we understand that? Jesus loves us so deeply and so intimately (in spite of knowing EVERYTHING about us - psalm 139 - yet promises us that He will never leave us and His love will never waver. ever.)
John 10:27-30 says, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will NEVER perish, and no one will ever snatch them our of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is GREATER THAN ALL, and no one is able to snatch them our of the Father's hand. I and the Father are ONE."
Can there be any greater promise? We belong to Jesus and in that union, He belongs to us and is in us. No longer do we have to be "perfectly lonely."
We have Jesus. And He is all we need.
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