Join us this Sunday! In-Person 8:00am, 9:30am & 11:00am, Online 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:00am & 5:00pm

Join us this Sunday! In-Person 8:00am, 9:30am & 11:00am, Online 8:00am, 9:30am, 11:00am & 5:00pm

Join us at the next Sunday worship service:
In-Person
8:00am, 9:30am & 11:00am
Online 9:00am, 10:45am & 5:00pm

SOLITUDE – REST FOR THE SOUL

“We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” C.S. Lewis.

Connecting with others has never been more easy and it has never been more challenging to connect with ourselves. Constant connectivity enables us to see what everybody else does, what everybody else thinks, and what everybody else likes. We are used to input and stimuli. When we run, we listen to music, and when we are driving, we listen to podcasts. We are rarely in the moment. We all feel it — we’re bombarded by noise like never before. Jesus has an invitation for us: Step away from it all and find solitude with Him.

C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory, “We live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence, and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship.” Most of us have grown accustomed to what truly does amount to being “starved” for solitude.

You can know that you need solitude for one reason—Jesus needed it. We see examples of Jesus praying on His own throughout the New Testament. One example, Mark 1:35, tells us, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” Jesus, who was God and man simultaneously, needed time alone. If He needed it, we need it. When Jesus was about to face the excruciating ordeal of the cross, He just didn’t shrug and get through it; He spent time alone in the Garden of Gethsemane in conversation with his heavenly Father. He needed solitude to accomplish His purpose here on earth, and so do we. We are designed for solitude, simply being with your heavenly Father.

So, how can you best practice solitude? Be patient with yourself. Be patient with God. Fill the emptiness of silence with the satisfaction of God’s presence. Your heavenly Father loves simply spending time with you, enjoying deep communion with His people.

Christians should not spend all their time in solitude or all their time in community. We should be like Jesus and withdraw to commune with God but then return to the bustle of daily tasks and the needs of others. The bottom line is we need to carve out time for spiritual respite in some place of solitude because solitude is an opportunity to open up our lives and souls to Him.

We don’t retreat from life’s busyness and bustle as an end in itself. It is an opportunity to open our lives and souls to Him for whom we were made. To know Him and enjoy Him.

 Find a place free from distractions. Ask the Spirit to calm your heart and mind and help you to spend time in deep communion with God.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you ever spend time in solitude before the Lord? Why or why not? If you don’t, what is keeping you from doing so?
  2. What does solitude look like for you?
  3. What practical steps can you take to integrate the spiritual discipline of solitude into your faith walk?

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