Solitude: the quality or state of being alone or remote from society.
Imagine sitting in a completely empty, bright white room. There is nothing on the walls, there is no furniture other than the chair you are sitting on. The room is void of any sound other than the feint whisper of your breath, and perhaps the sound of your heart beating in your chest. You are the only human being in the room with no pets or outside stimuli. You are to sit there for an hour -only an hour. In this situation would you find yourself completely at ease, with total deep abiding peace? Would you feel loneliness, perhaps coupled with fear or anxiety? Would ten minutes be a stretch to get through, by which time you would be counting the minutes or seconds left to go in your head? What would be your thoughts? What would be your disposition? What if the time was extended to two or three hours, what then?
Your response may be an indication of where you are spiritually. It may indicate just where you are in relation to the Father, if indeed you view God as your Father. Ideally, you should be able to sit there totally at peace, completely content, and filled with joy -another opportunity to spend time alone in His presence. If anxiety coursed through your veins, perhaps you need to examine what is the state of your heart. Just for a moment, take away the dramatic white room, and sit alone in a room for ten minutes without any outside stimuli, (TV, radio, reading material and so forth). See what happens.
Revelation 20:11-12 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in them: and they were judged according to their works (emphasis added, KJV).
It has been said that the way people view the white room reveals the way they view death. Face it, such a room could leave one feeling somewhat naked or exposed. Comparing it to Revelation 20:11 where we find that everyone will stand before God, with no place to hide, and nothing to hide behind. There will be no one who will be able to hold our hand before the Almighty, nor will there be anyone to blame for our faults -they are our faults. Now there is a major difference between the believer and the non-believer: the believer will have Jesus Christ as his Advocate; whereas, the un-believer will not. Each one will be judged according to his deeds. For the believer, this will determine what rewards he will be given for all eternity; however, for non-believers -those who refused to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord, it will determine the severity of the punishment for all eternity. For those who love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, this is not an issue; however, for those who love darkness it is. Jesus said in John 3:18-19, “He that believeth on Him (Jesus) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (emphases added). Every that does evil hates the light. In essence, it is not God Who sends people to hell and ultimately to the lake of fire, they send themselves by refusing to believe because they love darkness. Because of God’s great love, he gives everyone the opportunity to choose life, but He will not make the choice for them.
If you happen to be reading this, and you have not made the decision for Jesus Christ -if you have not yet chosen life, or perhaps you are not certain you belong to Him, let me invite you to pray right now. Please understand that if you do, it is not merely saying words, it is the prayer of repentance. What is repentance? In essence, it means to change your way of thinking. It means that you are going one direction -sin and condemnation, and that you turn away from your sins, and make a 180 degree turn in the opposite direction toward God and His righteousness. The change is deciding to live for God and not your selfish sinful life. Pray this prayer: “Father, I am a sinner and I confess that I have sinned against you. I have fallen short of your righteousness, and I ask that you forgive me in the Name of Jesus. I repent of my sins -I turn away from them. I denounce them before You. Jesus, I ask that you come into my heart and be my Lord. I receive your forgiveness, and will now live for you all the days of my life. Father you said if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I receive You and Your Word now in the Name of Jesus. Thank You for saving me.” If you prayed this prayer and meant it, welcome to the Kingdom of God!
One more thing before going on: this prayer is only the beginning. You need to be discipled -you need to be taught. Let me encourage you to find a Bible believing church that teaches and preaches the Word of God without compromise. Find someone who is truly living for God and knows the Bible well. Ask him or her to help you to grow in the faith. Spend time with God (lots of time) and read His Word -the Bible everyday.
This can also serve as an exercise in intimacy with the Lord. As believers we need to realize that God does indeed love us, and He wants to spend time with us as a family. Granted, some have come from dysfunctional families, and the idea of intimacy with the Father can be a stretch. Especially, if they’ve never experienced love from their earthly fathers. Perhaps you are a believer that has a hard time with solitude because you do not feel at peace with the Father -because you aren’t convinced that He really does love you. Here’s a simple question: do you love God? If you do, this is a major proof that He does indeed love you. 1John 4:19 says, “We love Him, because He first loved us” (emphases added). If God did not love you, you could not love Him. He would have never revealed Himself to you if he didn’t. Do not confuse the love of your earthly father (or the lack) with the love of our heavenly Father. No one loves you more than He does -no one!
Furthermore: for some it is time to hear His voice for yourself. Let me suggest to you that you get a pen and notebook. Sit quietly, and write down what you feel the Lord is telling you through the Holy Spirit. Put away your “to-do” lists, and anything outside of this setting that would hinder this time. They can wait! Do this often -everyday. You will learn to hear His voice with clarity. Do not be fearful that you will hear the wrong thing, this is done by faith. Faith says, ” God can be found, and His voice can be heard.” Furthermore, God has given us His written Word whereby we can compare what we hear. If what we hear is from God it will line up with Scripture. This journal can be for your eyes only, but you can also share it with someone you trust. In fact, it may not be a bad idea to share with someone who is grounded in the faith and knows His voice. While not being fearful, we do want to take great care in relation to what is heard.
One last thing: one’s prayer life will dramatically change if one will sit quietly with Father. Intimacy comes before prayer. In our intimacy with Him, He can lead us in how to pray,what to pray, and for whom. Jesus said that we are to pray according to the will of the Father. It makes it much easier to pray His will, if we know what His will is! When we are able to sit quietly before the Lord in deep intimacy, solitude is a wonderful thing!
