I Wait for my Lord

Loneliness can be common to many of our Ely and District CAP clients. Emotional loneliness where relationships are broken by the denial or stigma of debt and poverty. Social loneliness where it can be a struggle to leave the house or answer the phone, imprisoned in an impossible situation. Existential loneliness, feeling fundamentally separated from others and the world around us.

According to the UK government’s Tackling Loneliness strategy review, reported loneliness is higher for people who:

are 16-24 years old

are female

are single or widowed

live with a limiting mental health condition

are renting

have lower neighbourhood belonging

have lower local social trust

(from Facts and Statistics | Campaign to End Loneliness)

This is reflected in the demographics of CAP clients (from 2025 Client report Client-Report-2025.pdf):

Psalm 38: 9 -16 (MSG)

Lord, my longings are sitting in plain sight, my groans an old story to you. My heart’s about to break; I’m a burned-out case. Cataracts blind me to God and good; old friends avoid me like the plague. My cousins never visit, my neighbours stab me in the back. My competitors blacken my name, devoutly they pray for my ruin. But I’m deaf and mute to it all, ears shut, mouth shut. I don’t hear a word they say, don’t speak a word in response. What I do, God, is wait for you, wait for my Lord, my God—you will answer! I wait and pray so they won’t laugh me off, won’t smugly strut off when I stumble.

The psalmist shows that we can take all these fears and troubles and loneliness to God, he knows our heart better than we do ourselves. Even when we feel those who are close to us are against us, we know that You are for us, You give us the strength and courage to get up when we stumble and carry on supported in love whatever we perceive the world may throw at us.

This is the love that the Ely and District CAP team bring into the homes of our clients. It can be a huge step to reach out and invite the team into their homes and their lives, but it is a step that can help break the isolation of loneliness and open thieir eyes to know love and support for the journey out of debt and beyond.