Spiritual Disciplines
Day 15: Solitude
Solitude. Privacy. Aloneness. For some of you, these words make you cringe. Yet, solitude is not only a spiritual disciple, it is also where we experience intimate moments with God. It’s important to note that solitude is not isolation.
Isolation is spending long seasons alone and away from God’s presence. Solitude is spending short moments alone and in God’s presence.
We see one of the most powerful moments of isolation in the Bible when Jesus escaped to the garden the night before his crucifixion. Where Jesus stressed, cried, begged, prayed, surrendered, submitted, celebrated, acknowledged, grieved, and listened to his Father. Certain conversations with God can only be had in the silence of isolation. Yet, we live in a world where busyness and noise is almost impossible to escape, right? Maybe, isolation is just too intimidating for us to enter, so we choose to stay in the loudness of our lives. In the noise, we can blissfully ignore the words God wants to speak into our life.
We think of being alone with God as a scary moment where we might be disciplined or punished. When I was a kid, my dad used to say to me, “we need to talk.” He would often follow that with pulling me aside and confronting me on something I did wrong. There are times God convicts us when we are in solitude. That is not why he desires to be alone with us. He wants to be alone with us the same way we like to be alone with the ones we love.
Spending time alone with the Lord is one of the ways we stay connected to His Spirit. It’s an opportunity to listen, be encouraged, get to know who he is as our Father. I frequently hear people talk about feeling disconnected from God; my first question for them is, “how much time do you spend with Him alone?” We cannot grow in our relationship with our spouse without spending quality time with them. We can’t expect to grow in our relationship with God without spending quality time with Him.
Scripture of the Day
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” – Matthew 26:36-39
Examples of Solitude:
*Find a quiet place and sit down, no phone, no music, no distractions. Just listen in silence to what you hear or feel. Listen in silence and ask the Lord what He is trying to say to you.
*Go to a place where you can experience solitude with the Lord and read His word.