“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”
John 16:32
Loneliness hurts. Alone-ness often heals. How ironic is that?
I remember a sociology course I took back in college on Family relationships. We analyzed the vast differences and common confusion between being alone, and feeling lonely. The differences are so clear.
Loneliness often evokes sadness or a yearning for something you don’t have. Alone-ness often gives security and clarity in its own process because it is usually a choice to be alone. Think about it.
Whenever someone is upset, they might need to be alone to clear their head. Whenever a writer needs to put their genius mind to work on paper, they need to be alone to concentrate. Whenever your mind is heavy with an important decision ahead, you often need to be alone to hear yourself, not others, think.
When it comes to solitude with God, it is almost parallel, but only more powerful.
I heard a young man’s testimony yesterday. He stood on a stage and glorified God, telling a story that the spirit compelled him to share. He was a child from a broken home. Parents got divorced when he was five. Mother got remarried when he was a teenager. Bonds were broken. Love was strained. Forgiveness was forgotten. He recalled witnessing his mother endure physical abuse from her new partner. He recalled leaving to live with his grandmother then returning to a home that no longer felt like a home. He recalled sleeping in his car in empty garages in the desperate need for solitude…
He needed solitude but was drawn to noise. This young man went on in his story, telling the crowd how he went down the path he constructed out of the brokenness and loneliness he felt. He was an aspiring singer. Unknowing to him, God’s purpose for his talent was not in the clubs or in the loudness of his career choice…So God drew him nearer and he needed to be alone to discover God’s purpose.
Although the tears threatened to spill over during his testimony, the young man continued and magnified God for the strength He gave in solitude.
Friend, that is what God does.
Even when it’s uncomfortable, even when we are weary in alone-ness, even when we are uncertain in alone-ness, God will put you through the time of solitude needed to walk in a realm with Him alone. For HE alone is God, and HE is God alone.
Think of the great names we learned of through the Word – Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David, even Jesus. God’s strength was found in solitude! God drew them all nearer and solitude was a must. CONTINUE HERE