CALLED TO SOLITUDE, EVEN LONELINESS. Mark 1:12.

Posted bySteven WalesPosted insingle-minded devotion, solitudeTags:, , , , ,

Sometimes God calls us to solitude, times when life is reduced to a single relationship: me and God. He may use physical isolation—some move to a new city or take a long journey. Others never leave the city, yet find themselves alone. Don’t despair.

Godly solitude is a time to draw near to God; a time of preparation.

God called Abraham to “journey to a place you know not of.” Joseph was imprisoned in a land where no one spoke his language or worshipped his God. Moses spent forty years in the wilderness with God. David spent years worshipping while herding sheep, then spent years on the run from King Saul, with only God to turn to. Same for many prophets. And the New Testament begins with Mary and Joseph living as fugitives in Egypt.

John the Baptist spent his whole life in the wilderness! People discuss his clothes and diet and grin: “John sure was funny, huh?” I disagree.

No one eats honey-covered grasshoppers by choice. That’s a starvation diet! And how many times does a man in camelhair get stung while “harvesting” honey? One hundred times? Two hundred?

God called John to a difficult life in uninhabitable, inhospitable places.

It was not just cute “white peopling.” He suffered! He was alone with God for years! But Jesus explained, “No one born of woman is greater than John the Baptist” Matthew 11:11. God used the isolation to prepare John’s heart. Similar experiences dogged the life of Paul, who was drawn into the wilderness for three years (Galatians 1:16-18) and later spent years imprisoned, and John, who was exiled on the island of Patmos.

And what happened after Jesus was baptized?

“Immediately the Holy Spirit DROVE Him into the wilderness” Mark 1:12.

GOD CALLED JESUS TO LONELY PLACES MANY TIMES. “He often withdrew to deserted places and prayed” Luke 5:16. “During those days, He went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God” Luke 6:12.

I BELIEVE ISOLATION MAY BE THE MOST COMMON EXPERIENCE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING COMPLETE DEDICATION TO CHRIST. EMBRACE IT.

God, give us the courage to be ALL ALONE with You. Draw us closer to You every day.

ΑΩ

Published by Steven Wales

Dad's Daily Devotional began as text messages to my family. I wanted my teenagers to know their father was reading the Bible. But they were at school by then. Initially, I sent them a favorite verse or an insight based on what I read each day. That grew into drafting a devotional readng which I would send them via text. I work as an attorney and an adjunct professor, and recently wrote a book called HOW TO MAKE A'S.

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