Forced Solitude (Daily Encouragement Series)
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.” – Mark 1:35-39
Jesus had just finished a full day of teaching, healing the sick and serving others. Much like our time now there were things to be worried about and things to do. In the midst of it, Jesus continued to make it a priority to be with God the Father and be shaped by Him.
He went to a “desolate place” (v/35) – it’s the word “eremos” which can mean: desert, deserted place, wilderness desolate place, lonely place, solitary place, quiet place. (our “forced solitude”)
Jesus knew in the midst of the worries and obligations of the world (“everyone is looking for you”) the most important thing to function well was solitude: being alone with God and your own soul. To be still and silent in the presence of God.
“As a result, he is able to do the right thing, at the right time, and with the right heart.” (Peter Scazzero).
We have a lot of information coming at us and we have to make a lot of decisions everyday that are not our normal. Making it a priority to sit in the “quiet place” with God each day will bring us peace and align our priorities with His.
Use this time of isolation – forced solitude – to develop habits of silence and connection with God:
- Create an environment – time, place, God’s word- for attention to and connection with God
- Remind yourself of your identity – Who’s you are, who you are. (“…this is my son (daughter), with whom I am well pleased..”)
- Remind yourself of your purpose – in light of identity, what YOU are to be about (“…that is why I came…”)
Full Sermon Solitude here: https://cpjupiter.com/sermons/sacred-pace_solitude/