Issue 739 – Lonely Places – May 9, 2022
This reader-submitted photo of a lonely hillside caught my eye. It makes me feel like there was not another person around for miles.
If you have photos that you think might contain a Gleanings, please feel free to send them. I cannot guarantee if or when I will use them, but you never know. You must own the rights to the photos, and if there are identifiable people in them, you must provide written permission from them to use the images.
That image is not an accurate depiction of the Middle East but is the sort of scene I imagine when I read of Jesus going to a lonely place to pray.
Time in solitude, meditating, praying, and studying the Scriptures is a great spiritual disciple, and as we read in the Scriptures, one that Jesus used often.
Jesus used His time in solitude to pray, to make significant decisions (such as calling the 12) and before beginning His ministry.
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. Mark 1: 35
But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. Luke 5:15-16
In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles… Luke 6:12-13
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. Matthew 14:13
I confess that it isn’t a spiritual discipline that I do very well. There have been some occasions where I have managed to get away for a solitary time, but inevitably, within a day, I am seeking the companionship of others.
I don’t even need to be interacting with others; simply having them around is enough. During those retreat times, I would take time each day and head to a local coffee shop just to have a sense of people around me. I would not make a very good hermit.
Still, it is in those quiet moments walking in the woods, whether by myself or with a few select others, that God often breaks through the clutter of my brain and makes Himself apparent to me.
His truth is found in the Word, and He doesn’t give me some form of special revelation. He allows me to process what I have learned in my reading and study and pull those things together.
Most people find it hard to focus amidst the turmoil of daily living. We are so used to having constant noise requiring our attention that quiet often unnerves us. I know several people who have told me that silence makes them uncomfortable and even “hurts their ears.”
We don’t even like pauses in conversations. Stop talking for a moment, and someone is bound to fill the silence with something.
Time in solitude can make us begin to examine our hearts and minds, which can be frightening. We can often lie to ourselves about our spiritual condition if we don’t have to stop and think about it.
Perhaps that is why the enemy likes to keep us busy and surround us with noise. If too much is happening around us, it is easy for us to lose sight of the Lord. He hasn’t moved. We just seem to disconnect from Him.
Most of us probably need more of that time away from distraction.
How is your quiet time? What hinders it, and what have you found helpful?
May we all find time in quiet places to hear from the Lord.
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Thanks.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed.
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
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