My cell phone chirps and beeps all day long. The PC that is never far from my sight flashes text, sound, and pictures on my desks and next to my living room chair. Our televisions give us the latest information from Cairo, let us sit on the front row of the stadium, or tell us a story in a movie. We are a wired society and most of us like it that way. Solitude is a rare thing for many of us. In fact, we are so attached to our communications stream that we grow anxious when it is shut-down, despite our claim to want some ‘peace and quiet!’ Come on, you know I’m right. Just let me know how ‘peaceful’ you feel next time your high speed Internet connection goes down.
One of my favorite writers on the subject of spiritual formation, Richard Foster, talks about solitude. He is not talking about being a social misfit unable to connect to others, nor is he recommending loneliness, which is one of life’s most painful conditions. Solitude is a discipline that teaches us to be alone with ourselves, that lets us grow comfortable with periods of silence, which allows us to sense the majesty of God. He says that “In solitude we learn to love the ways of God; we learn the cosmic patience of God. There’s the passage in Isaiah in which God says, “Your ways are not my ways,” and then goes on to describe how God’s ways are like the rain that comes down and waters the earth. Rain comes down and just disappears, and then up comes the life. It’s that type of patience. In solitude, I learn to unhook myself from the compulsion to climb and push and shove.” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/september/26.41.html?start=5)
If a Christian desires to know God intimately and to be responsive to Him, he will have to learn how to withdraw into times of silence and be comfortable with the solitude. Impossible, you say? Try riding in your car with cell phone turned off, radio off, and mouth shut! (I think the Devil will be sure that someone blows his horn at you.) Or, instead of watching a TV show, go to a room and spend 20 minutes alone, inviting the Holy Spirit to touch the deepest part of your spirit.
Years ago, I took a short sabbatical and one week of that break I spent on a silent retreat at a monastic community! It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. But, I remember gaining a sense of mental clarity, a focus that was so wonderful, by about day three. No, there was no burning bush, no grand revelation, but I have never forgotten how important solitude is, if one would have the mind of the Lord.
In the Gospels, we read about Jesus making a practice of getting alone. "He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place." (Matthew 14:13, NIV) "As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer." (Luke 5:16, The Message) Why was this his notable habit, one that finds record many times through the Gospels? Was he escaping pressure, running away? No. He was running to His Father, preparing Himself to pour out the blessings of Heaven on the world. Might it be that you and I have so little to give so often because we have not learned to be filled with the Spirit? Are we so full of the trivia of daily life that we have no room for the treasure of the eternal Kingdom?
Just before you go to be alone for a while, here are words from the Word. May they convict and challenge us to learn to be still!
"Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD." (Psalm 4:4-5, KJV)
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout the world.”
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us;
the God of Israel is our fortress." (Psalm 46:10-11, NLT)
____________________
Treasures
One by one He took them from me,
All the things I valued most,
Until I was empty-handed;
Every glittering toy was lost.
And I walked earth's highways, grieving.
In my rags and poverty.
Till I heard His voice inviting,
"Lift your empty hands to Me!"
So I held my hands toward heaven,
And He filled them with a store
Of His own transcendent riches,
‘Till they could contain no more.
And at last I comprehended
With my stupid mind and dull,
That God COULD not pour His riches
Into hands already full!
-Martha Snell Nicholson
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