Every now and then it is nice to just get alone and have some peace and quiet. Spend some time alone with nothing disturbing our state of being. I like to call this the quiet place. I was talking about this subject the other day. This whole idea of solitude is something that I think seems a little scary to most of us. We are so used to having noise around us that we almost fear the silence. You know what I mean. I know sometimes when I am blogging here I also have the TV on to see what is happening. It’s not like I can really do that great of a job focusing on both things at the same time. None of us really can. We can’t truly give two things the best we have at the same time. Solitude, however can be a good thing for several reasons. When we look in the Bible we see that Jesus often took time for this many times. When he was ready to begin his ministry he ended up out in the desert for fourty days fasting and meeting with God. When he fed the 5,000 he sent the desciples away and went up on a mountain to pray. It was something that he seen as important. So if Jesus needed this time then we must need it as well.
It is good because we need a time of physical renewal. There are times when we are just flat worn out and it just doesn’t seem like we can go any more. Those are the times whenwe are overdue for some times of solitude. Jesus was like us in that he got tired from his daily grind. He was constantly traveling, meeting the needs of the sick and teaching to the crowds. Someone always wanted a piece of him. Does that sound familiar. Sometimes we need to learn to say no and take some time to get away for our own health benefits. It is for the benefit of everyone else as well. If we are not rested and ready to go then we cannot be the best employee, boss, husband, wife, fill in the blank that we need to be.
Another reason we need this time is for spiritual renewal. We need some time to get alone with God and fill ourselves up with his truth. If we are going to be effective ministers to those around us then we need to have the truth of God planted in us and have a refreshed spirit about us. I know that if I have not spent enough time with God alone I feel the result. I do not feel ready to go out and be effective in what I do. Each day God has appointments for us and we need to be ready for them. Other challenges will rise in our life as well and if we are not refreshed and renewed we will not deal with them as well.
Finally, we need emotional renewal. When we get to those points when everybody and everything seems to be closing in on us then we get emotional overload. It is hard to process things going on around us when we get to this state of mind. It is time to slow things down. In fact it is way past time if we get hear. Many feelings can come crashing in on us at once. We may have feeling, of fear, anxiety, anger, hopelessness, frustration, low self esteem. When all this comes down on us we need time to unload it all. There is no better place to be than in a place where you can lock everything out for a little bit and get with God to let him know what ’s going on in your life. He already knows, of course , but it is good for us to release it to him. Whether you are young or old this is something that we need to do. We should do it sooner instead of later. Don’t wait till you feel at the end of your rope.
I’ll see you again tomorrow hopefully.
Thanks for joining me.
Gary Kauffman
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