SOLITUDE

Before I go any further with this serious subject, there are a few questions I must ask.

1. If I wear my faith on my sleeve, will it wash off when it rains?
2. Will Jesus come back on a storm cloud, or a big, white, fluffy one?

There! Got that out of my system.

Solitude. What is it? Why do we "have" to do it? What's the big deal? I read my bible, go to church, do all the "right" things, right?

Solitude is a time when we withdraw from the company of others in order to give God our undivided attention. John Ortberg

Solitude is not exactly the same thing as "quiet time", which is another practice "Christians" use, or try to use, on a daily basis. Quiet time often equals Lectio Divina, which is translated "sacred reading". Another way to say that is meditative reading of scripture. Solitude is somewhat different, although you may begin your solitude by reading a few verses from scripture to put your mind in the right place to meet with God.

Solitude means removing yourself from everything, all noise, all people, all activities, anything that can "divide" the attention you give to God. Looking at the world around us, you might think solitude would be way more difficult to enter into than "quiet time". However, if you have that assumption, you are probably wrong. Solitude is prayer, only it is Spirit-led prayer.

In a world crowded with noise and flashing lights, and loud people, solitude is one thing that can change our entire walk with Jesus. By its very definition, solitude (Spirit-led prayer) means we are quiet and alone, and we allow the Spirit to lead us. Can you understand why Satan might not think that is such a good thing? Look around you again. See all the flashing lights, hear all the loud noises and people? Bingo!

Although many believers, especially extroverts, avoid this primary discipline of the faith, the spiritual cost in doing so is great. Even a casual look at the Gospels reveals that solitude was an indispensable practice in the life of the Lord Jesus (see Matthew14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, John 6:15) Kenneth Boa...Conformed To His Image

Satan wants you to be busy. He wants you to have people around you at all times, noises going, the television set on, whatever he can use so that it is just too loud and too busy for you to hear the voice of God. What will God say to you, I wonder? Many people struggle with their prayer life, thinking, "God never seems to answer my prayers", or "I don't get any guidance from God." Some of this may be due to the absence of silence and solitude in their lives. If we don't give God a chance to speak to us, how can we ever hear Him?

Notice that Kenneth Boa calls solitude a discipline. There's that "D" word! Guess what, Jesus practiced solitude. If we claim to follow Jesus, then its okay to practice the things He did without worrying about whether we are getting caught up in "methods and traditions". Jesus also celebrated the Passover, a Jewish tradition from the time of Moses. So, not all tradition is bad. Likewise, not all discipline is bad. It is a discipline because sometimes it takes discipline to practice it.

Let's put that in a way that maybe we all can recognize a little easier. We keep appointments with doctors, right? We keep appointments with our friends for dates, dinner, or just plain fun, right? If God is our father, our healer, our savior, and our friend, how much more so should we make and keep appointments with Him? But, the "D" word is there, staring at us all of the time, and we don't always like anything that we think we "have" to do.

This may help. You don't have to do it. It's your choice, as always. Before we even try to do it once, we need to change our attitude about it. This isn't a duty, or a job. It's a privelege. Think about this. You get to hear, and speak in the presence of the Almighty God, the unseen one, your maker, your redeemer, the One Whose thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. This is God!

Do you remember as a child looking up to someone older and maybe wiser than you? Do you remember how you sought their attention, their approval? Was this not a relationship you really wanted to have, one that you enjoyed very much? One maybe that even shaped your life?

Then there's God. He's always there, you can't be separated from Him. He patiently awaits your attention, your love, your time. Yet we are the ones who need Him, long to hear Him, long to see Him, and know Him. He is the ultimate relationship of our lives, and here He is, just waiting for us. Haven't you always wanted that kind of relationship? This isn't a bad thing, it's a very, very good thing.

For men, God is the best friend they ever had who will always go wherever we are. For women, God is the ultimate husband, always listening, never interrupting, patient and kind through changes in appearance, old age, and mistakes. For both, no matter how we look, or act, no matter the mistakes we make, if we believe, He will always be there, loving us just the same. Isn't that an appointment worth keeping? Even psychologists aren't that good, and they charge you money just so you can hear them babble. God is so much better than a psychologist, that to mention the two in the same sentence seems sinful.

Do you want to know why so many are rebelling against the "traditional" church? Because the "traditional" church is boring! It is filled with things that have become meaningless, chants, and rituals that are no longer pleasing to God, because they are words uttered with their lips, while their hearts are far from Him. Do you want to know why people don't like solitude, and "quiet" time, and "devotions"? Because we have been told that these things have to be boring! I will not apologize for saying this, if you want to live with a boring God, go ahead, but for me, no thank you!

God is life! He is not death! He is not ritual, or chanting, or image-driven dribble. He is God! The same God that made volcanoes made you. The same God who made kittens and puppies made you. The same God who made color made you. God didn't have to give us color, He could have given us black and white, and we wouldn't have known the difference. God is Boring?! No way!

No wonder "discipline" is such a dirty word in this new generation, when all you get out of God is boredom! I assure you, God is not boring. Look at the one-liners Jesus zinged at the Pharisees on the spot. What journalist or Hollywood writer wouldn't give his or her left arm to be able to respond with such quips and answers, on the spot?! Jesus didn't have hours to write a column, or months and years to write a book, He responded immediately, and left his accusers and questioners with nothing to say! Is that boring? Can you do it? None of us can! Shake off that old preacher or relative, or mentor who taught you that God was boring. It's not true!!

The same God who created humor, also created worship. The same God who created up-times also created down times. If He did so, don't you think there's a good reason? Would He ever tell you to do something that was bad for you? If we believe He uses all things to the good of those who love Him, then why must we believe He is boring!?

Solitude, quiet time, Lectio Divina, it doesn't matter what it is. There will be nothing but boredom in it for us if we expect it to boring. But, before we expect it to be boring, let's please just remember Who we are talking about, okay? We are not talking about some politician, or some preacher who left his personality at seminary. We are talking about God! If he made humor, how much more humorous is He than us? If He made excitement and thrills, how much more thrilling must He be?

Solitude can only happen alone, and only in silence. It is literally Spirit-led prayer. Begin by just asking the Holy Spirit to lead you where He wants to take you, and then just let go, and enjoy the ride. If you truly let go, I promise you, your ride will be anything but boring. You will be amazed at all the places He takes you. With Him, there is no boundary, or border. Neither Communism nor democracy means anything to Him. There is no place He cannot take you, no thing He cannot show you, no word He cannot speak to you.

Quiet time is time spent alone with God, but it doesn't necessarily have to be silent. Quiet time is misnamed. Let it just be time. You can spend time in solitude, and quiet time, laying down before you sleep, or driving your car, or just sitting in a chair alone. Quiet time is not necessarily the same as scripture reading, but it can be used as time to do just that. But "quiet time" is where we talk to God, and He talks to us. It is the times we possibly learn the most about God, and from Him. And here is a truth: You cannot love someone well if you do not know them well. If you want to love God well, then you have to get to know Him, and that means you have to use what He has given you to reveal Himself to you. One of those things is His Word. Another is prayer. We have no better way of discerning the Will of God than through prayer, and specifically, Spirit-led prayer (solitude). But when you do these things, do them with an expectancy of the amazing, because the God you love is an amazing God. He is most definitely, absolutely, the most exciting being you will ever be around!!! Treat your time with Him as if He is. Fire yourself up!! If we change the way we approach our time with God, our time with God will be changed, I promise.

I will continue this tomorrow, incorporating quiet time and scripture a little more. Also, I'll touch on what to do to approach solitude, and how we actually do it. Thanks. Oh yeah, please answer the two questions I asked at the long ago beginning of this post. Bye bye.