Solitude

Use this as a devotional tool. Look up the Scripture provided. Journal about it and/or talk about it with family and friends. Feel free to share, leave comments, or message me at pastorjacobhayward@gmail.com

I was mute and silent; 

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

-Psalm 39:2

David Goggins, an ex-Navy SEAL and current ultra runner and motivator, said that running with music is cheating. 

That’s fine for him; but there are some days I am so unmotivated to run that I need music to encourage me to put on my shoes!

His reasoning behind it is extremely important. He does not encourage silence because he hates music, but rather because it is in the silence in which we are able to find freedom. With that freedom from hearing the thousands of voices swirling around you, you are left just with your own voice. It is only by allowing yourself to experience silence that you will be able to strengthen that voice, eventually becoming your own source of motivation. We all have an inner dialogue, and for most of us that dialogue directs us towards comfort. But Goggins argues the point of being human is not comfort, but being comfortable in the painful process of growth. 

And I think he is right. 

If we want biblical proof that being alone for periods of time is important, we need look no further than to Jesus. He often is described at getting away from not only the crowds packing in around him, but even to get away from his disciples. He needed time to be alone that he may speak with God. We see it almost as a recharge. He expensed so much energy giving to hurting, healing, and teaching, that he needed time with the Father that he may experience the Father’s comfort and also that he may come to know the Father’s will. Solitude is a time, no doubt, of returning to the Lord that he might bring us into the rest of Psalm 23, returning to the cool green pastures. 

But solitude does something else for us as well. Just as often we see people go into solitude that the individual may find peace and a recharge in the Lord, we also see those individuals doing some of their heaviest lifting. It seems that when we are caught in the fast-flowing stream of life we are unable to deal with some of the problems that most deeply impact our life and walk with the Lord.  When we are surrounded by the voices of many people we are unable to properly converse with the Lord about his will and our part in it. 

This is true for many characters in Scripture. Think of Jacob, who in Genesis 32 separated himself from his family and camp that he might be alone in order to literally wrestle with God. Moses in Exodus 33 would pitch the tent of meeting away from the camp that he might be alone to meet with the Lord. In Psalm 39 that I started you off reading, we are privy to a conversation between the psalmist and God in which the writer does not understand the reason behind the problems he is experiencing. Even Jesus before he went to the cross cried out that the cup he was to drink might pass from him if it were possible!

Solitude, then, is meant to bring about two things. First, it can be a beautiful recharge as we bask in the radiant presence of the Lord, for a short moment distanced from the crowd of voices pressing in. But the second is one that we often forget. In order for us to grow and work through our faith, making it real and tangible, we must take moments of solitude that we might work those things out with the Lord. It is in the silence where we are able to speak, and more importantly listen, to God and what he is doing. 

I encourage you to take time away from the voices of the news, your community, and even of song, and instead spend time in solitude with just you and God. I pray you experience God and his presence this day. 

Make sure to ask and answer these questions on your own and with your family. There may be things that I missed, so please feel free to comment them. If you’d like to continue the conversation, feel free to contact me at pastorjacobhayward@gmail.com. Thanks for joining me, I hope to continue this journey with you soon. God bless.