The challenge and importance of solitude...

As you may or may not know (or care for that matter!) I am getting married in July this year. I am also in the closing stages of my Music degree and am still working a few days a week to make enough money to pay rent. Trying to deal with all this happening at once is a fun, challenging and exciting process! Life is awesome!! It's going really well, I'm feeling content, we're pretty organised in terms of wedding preparations, and the stress levels are something we make a conscious effort to maintain at a minimum. Amidst all this insanity though, there hasn't been an abundance in opportunity for solitude; Time spent alone with my thoughts, time in prayer, time to reflect on my identity in Christ. 

Piper says; We simply can't maintain a radical God-centeredness under an unbroken barrage of human interaction. The depth and value of what you bring in your heart to other people will depend on what you do with your solitude". 

Trying to find a place of solitude is hard sometimes. It's so valuable though. I have really learned recently the problems that arise when I get too entangled with the constant noise and traffic of the world and it's fast pace and busyness. Me and Bex recently resolved to make sure we get this time of peace, quiet and solitude that I had been so desperately lacking. I had been clinging too hard to the worldly things I'm involved in, afraid of letting them go to put God first, without realising that time with him is paramount, causing all other things to fall into their proper place. Time spent in His word realigns my perspective on all other aspects of life. Not only that, but it realigns my heart soul and mind to approach and live out my days with a better attitude, seeing more fruit than I did when I held tight to things other than God. 

The hymn writer James Thompson wrote these incredible words that sum all this up amazingly;    

                       

Hail, mildly pleasing solitude,

Companion of the wise and good:

Oh! how I love with thee to walk,

And listen to thy whisper'd talk,

Which innocence, and truth imparts,

And melts the most obdurate heart  

When the things that I'm doing (wedding plans, Uni work, Church ministry, seeing friends, making money, etc) become a distraction enough that the radiance of Jesus is blocked, it becomes like closing the curtains on the sun . The peace can no longer shine through all this traffic that I've put in place. In the darkness I wallow, losing the ability to see things clearly. My spiritual discernment is damaged, and like a mole in a tunnel, my eyes become accustomed to the dark. I begin to live as though this is the natural state.

 Resolving to seek more solitude, more time with God is like opening the curtains again. The light is blinding! Suddenly I am no longer fumbling my way around, trying to make everything work in the darkened conditions. Life has a clarity, a clearness. It is easier. I receive peace, strength and joy. The airwaves are clear again to hear God's correction, direction, purpose and love for me. God, the rock of ages, cleft for me, lets me hide myself in him. Like astronauts in a shuttle pod, I am enveloped in this place of security amidst immense pressure and hostility. I would be overwhelmed with the worries of this age, if I didn't have this place of solitude, security and protection.

The psalmist declares that; He makes me lie in pastures green, quiets me beside still waters and once in that place; He restores my soul.....Its significant that the Bible puts things in that order. We must be quiet, ready to listen in order that we can hear His voice.