Hi Ren family!
I hope you are in a warm place enjoying the beautiful snow out your window. It's nice to be shut in once in a while. Life rushes along at such a fast pace. We need time to slow down and even come to a still.
It’s fitting that my message to you this morning is about the practice of pulling away into an unrushed secluded place. It's been called “solitude” by Christian mystics through the ages. If ever there were a day to recapture this neglected practice—it is today. Shallowness is the fruit of the neglect of solitude. In this generation, we are ever-increasing in knowledge but often do not have the capacity to comprehend the vastness of eternal things. As good Christians, we have all the right information about God, but we are deficient in wonder and awe. There is no other way to attain depth in God than through the practice of solitude.
Young mystics
This practice of solitude seemed a lot easier when I was young and without many responsibilities. Because of my introverted bend I always naturally sought out secluded places. I remember, for example, spending countless hours alone in the corner of our yard in Enfield where my dad had built a large sandbox. I carved shapes and tunnels in the sand and got lost in my thoughts. Another retreat for me was the miles and miles of woods behind our house. I’d walk aimlessly along the paths without a care in the world and take in the glory of nature. I remember times of deep solitude sitting in the backseat of the car on the long drives to Syracuse with my parents. We didn’t talk too much on the trip I think because of the cabin noise of small cars built in the 70s. So I just stared out the window at the stars. Another place of solitude I remember was the lawn chair forts I made. Once I strung together the chairs and blankets I would climb into my tiny sanctuary and peek through the openings and watch the clouds float by.
These times of solitude, away from the noise of TV, the drama at school, the hustle and bustle of duties, and life’s general busyness were moments of transcendence. In other words, I was transported out of the swirl of life’s activities and came into a sacred space outside of it all. It was in these times that I thought about God. Who is He? What is He like? Who am I? How did I get here? What happens after I die? What does infinity mean? What is wrong with this planet? They were philosophical moments of wondering. I felt like I was on the edge of the world looking out into the vastness of eternity for answers. This practice of solitude intensified in my young adult years. I’d go up to Maine for several days alone just to think. I also lived alone at times which gave me massive amounts of time to wonder.
Alone with God
This yearning for solitude deepened after I was reconciled to the Lord in my early twenties. Hunting for places of solitude wherever I lived or travelled became a habit. I think of abandoned streets in NYC, our rooftop in Astoria, the trails at Forest Park, secluded beaches or fields. Sometimes a long drive through sparsely populated areas was perfect solitude. At Bible school, I would hide in the bathroom stall of the castle to commune with God where no one could find me. At the church building I’ve sometimes shut myself away in small storage rooms in the basement or in stairwells.
The practice of solitude is about being alone with God. Some misunderstand solitude and think it’s the same as being anti-social. We do isolate ourselves from people during solitude, but solitude actually enriches our relationships. Solitude makes us more sensitive, more empathetic, more precise in our words.
Spiritual solitude isn’t just about being alone in a secluded place. We all know that we can be away from people physically but still experience a crowd of distracting thoughts in our heads. Being in a secluded place is only part of solitude. We also must develop the ability to be silent and still. To let all the anxieties drain out of us until we come to a place of calm. To come to a place of steady gazing on the Eternal. Some call solitude a discipline because it is something we develop over time. We work at it.
The way of Jesus
Jesus practiced solitude. It says in the gospels in several places that Christ went out to solitary places. He would get up while it was still dark and retreat to pray. At times, He’d push away the crowd and take off to one of His prayer nooks. Jesus even spent 40 days in a remote desert to fast and pray. We can be certain that Jesus prayed all day, even amidst the busy crowds. But it’s significant that He felt the frequent urge to retreat to lonely places. Why?
Again, it’s not that it was impossible for Jesus to pray on the fly or with people around. He could, and He did. But places of solitude enable longer stretches of unbroken concentration and communion. They allow us to really go out there into the Deep. Pure solitude is being in a place where no one will interrupt you and you aren’t expected back anytime soon. This detachment from people enables us to be with God more fully.
A pale comparison might be the example of reading a complicated book. We could probably read a book at the mall or in a train station. We could read a book at home with several people who could interrupt at any moment. We can do it. But it’s a lot harder to comprehend and process what we are reading. If we were in a quiet place without any possibility of interruption, it allows our minds to relax and become fully enveloped. Well, if this is true with reading, how much more true is it in our practice of contemplating on God? Even Jesus valued the place of solitude so much that He frequently sought it out.
One thing needed
Practicing solitude is the most important thing you can do if you want to experience God in a deep way. Most Christians only nibble on the great feast the Lord has provided. We barely get our feet wet in the ocean of His grace before we run back to the shore of life’s amusements and activities. Our attention span seems to get shorter and shorter. We give five minutes to skim an article, 12 seconds to watch a clip, two seconds to read a caption, 51 minutes to watch a TV show. We hop from one piece of content to the next like squirrels in a field of thousands of nuts. But unless we practice solitude we will have a shallow experience of God.
It is in solitude that great men and women of God have encountered God. In solitude, we hear His voice. John was in exile (forced solitude) when he received the vision recorded in the Book of Revelation. Isaiah was alone when He saw the Lord high and lifted up (Isaiah 6). Moses encountered God in the burning bush in a time of solitude. In solitude the Lord reveals Himself. Eternal realities come alive. As we steep in solitude we begin to realize the nearness of the Lord. We realize we are not alone. We realize that God is God. We breathe in something of His vastness. We become aware of how minuscule we are. We gaze at the stars and consider their lifespan and ponder the brevity of our own lives. The glory of God is manifested at times. The Lord manifests the blinding light of His holiness and our hearts are pierced. Holy fire purges our sin. The light of His glory melts us. We are transformed.
Praxis
Solitude can happen in various lengths of time. Paul was in solitude in Arabia for three years! Elijah spent weeks in solitude. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days. But Jesus would likely retreat in the mornings for a few hours. A generous block of solitude for most of us would be a day. Some may be able to do multiple days or even weeks. I have a friend who regularly spends a week in a Catholic monastery to get alone. What do you think you can do this year?
Build into the rhythms of your life this year the practice of solitude. I understand that this will be more challenging for some than others. Some are natural extroverts. Some people avoid being alone so much that when they are alone they have the TV on to make them feel less alone. Others may have such a busy schedule seven days a week that it makes it hard to pull away for any length of time. You might have several small children who seem to need you every five minutes. Or you work a demanding job 50-70 hours a week. These are real challenges, and I won’t say they are easy to overcome.
What I can say is that the grace of God is sufficient. He will make a way for you to practice solitude. Start with small blocks of maybe 2-3 hours. It’s worth the effort to do whatever you need to do to make it happen. Find someone to watch the kids. Trade off with your spouse to cover family duties. Take a day off of work. Plan solitude the way you might plan a vacation. It’s amazing how creative we get when planning a weekend getaway, right?
Yes, it’s more challenging for some than others. But the determining factor is how important we think the practice of solitude is. If you think it’s just one of those old-fashioned practices of Christian mystics, or for introverted souls, then you won’t make the effort. But if you realize solitude has been the gateway into the deep of God for thousands of years—you will set your heart toward it. If you realize the practice of solitude has marked every great man and woman of God—you will make it your aim.
How to impact the world
When I think of how a small church like Ren could make a large impact in this world I am convinced that there is no substitute for the practice of shutting away in the secret closet and setting our gaze upon eternal things. Oh, I know there are other important things we need to do like serve and give. We need to tend to our families well, and we need to resist sin. Yes yes yes. But what I’m saying is that in every generation there are lots of decent Christians who cross the finish line with a shallow relationship with God because they never learned the practice of solitude. Let’s not follow that example. May we be a company of mystics along with Moses and Elijah, David and Jesus. May we not be afraid to shut the whole world out and bury ourselves in the divine. May we learn to be still and know that He is God. Selah.
— Pastor Scott