Today, I want us to take a look at the value of solitude. In my mind, this is a no-brainer. How could it be possible to know anything of the discipline of the Christian life without times of solitude with the One who loved us enough to die for us, with the One who is pursuing us? As a matter of fact, if you are not practicing solitude you cannot be enjoying the quality of life that God intends for you, and whatever method you are using to develop the relationship is already more important than the relationship.

First, what do I mean by solitude? Solitude, in this context, means being alone for the purpose of undistracted devotion to God, as He is revealed in three very specific entities:

1. The written Word of God;
2. The Holy Spirit, who reveals the written Word of God; and
3. The person of Jesus, who is the Word of God.

The second thing I want to say is this: so far in my journey, every person I have ever read or known, who has an intimate relationship with Jesus, who lives the more abundant life that Jesus promised those to whom He gives His live, spends large amounts of time in solitude. If you should read the great writers of theology, those who really knew Him, whom to know is eternal life, you will find that they spent large amounts of time in solitude. There is simply no way around it, no shortcut to intimacy with Jesus.

To show you just how important undistracted devotion was to Paul, listen to these words from 1 Corinthians 7:23-35: “. . . and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.” As you can see, he is not referring merely to regular times of solitude, but to a life of undistracted devotion to the Lord; it was his intention that nothing, not even one’s spouse, would distract us from devotion to Him.

All I can tell you about that is this: we will never know that level of undistracted devotion, until we have first incorporated regular times of solitude into our lives, those regular times of undistracted attention to the written Word of God; to the Holy Spirit, who reveals the Word of God; and to the person of Jesus, who is the Word of God.

The third thing is this: focusing on the method one uses during times of solitude, robs the worshipper of the value of solitude. Countless books have been written about how to have an effective time of solitude, and some of them are quite good. However, if one is not careful, his focus will be on method he uses and, consequently, he will be distracted before he even begins, and, thus, robbed of the value of solitude.

Religion is a very dangerous distracter, and, sadly, much of what is done in the name of solitude is nothing more or less than walking (running!) on a religious treadmill: it takes up lots of time, but gets you nowhere. This is the truth of the matter: solitude is a joyous way of life for those who truly want to know Him, not some imposing intruder.

The fourth thing is this: in my opinion, the primary purpose of solitude is to experience the Presence of the Holy Spirit, the second Person of the Triune Godhead, in such a way as to encourage intimacy with Jesus through the Holy Spirit’s revelation of Him in the Scriptures. To that I will add this: most of the time I spend in solitude is spent focusing on the Scriptures, and I have learned over the years, that the more I focus on them, the more the Holy Spirit reveals Himself to me.

That is not to imply that I have arrived in my knowledge of Him, as I surely have not; however, it is meant to imply that I know Him far better than I know anyone else. And that is a fact. And I can say that only because He has faithfully revealed Himself to me, as I have spent time in solitude focusing on the Scriptures, not as a rule book, but as the revelation of Jesus. It is my prayer that you can say the very same thing!

The fifth thing is this: one of the main reasons people give for not having times of solitude is a lack of time. To that, I simply say this: if you really want to spend time in solitude, you will find the time. If you really want to know Him better than you know anyone else, you will find the time—period—and it won’t have to be a 3:00 AM; it can be, but it won’t have to be.

If you life is in such disarray that you do not have time for solitude, you are in dire need of reorganizing your priorities, of pruning the vine of your life, even if that means pruning good wood, and it probably will.

The sixth thing is this: after all the years of my journey, and after all the hours in solitude, I still have to tell you that undistracted solitude is oftentimes not easy. Even when I am completely alone, the enemy has ways of causing my mind to wander from Him. It never ceases to amaze me how I can be completely enthralled with something in the Scriptures, only to find my attention wandering to something completely unrelated.

For example, just this week, I was engrossed in a passage, when out of nowhere, I thought, “I need to return a phone call to Amy.” I actually had to fight back the urge because she is my daughter, and I decided the moment she was born that, for as long as I am alive, I will be available to her. That struggle actually took several seconds, maybe even a minute.

If this notion of solitude is appealing to you, please remember that you have an enemy, one who is out to keep you distracted. He has, however, been defeated and it is helpful to keep that in mind.

Finally, I want to say this: Back in the early days of my Christian life, solitude was referred to as “quiet time” and this “quiet time” was considered an essential element of the Christian life. When I entered the ministry, I soon learned from “those in the know” that the time I spent studying to preach, which was considerable, was not to be counted as “quiet time.” Thankfully, that religious cloak was discarded and for good reason.

Somewhere, early on, it occurred to me that every believer is a “preacher of the gospel” and is, thus, responsible for accurate preaching. Every believer in this room is a “preacher of the gospel” and, as far as I know, the only way you can really be prepared is to spend time in solitude (as I described it earlier), so you can get to know Him.

Some of the richest times of my life have been those hours when I was sitting at my computer with my Bible and my word processor—reading, listening, and writing. There have been many times when hours would pass without my even realizing it. I was not only preparing to preach, I was being drawn into intimacy with Jesus. For me that IS solitude.

Yes, I know that some of you are thinking, “Well, you have the time to do that because you are a preacher; preaching is your vocation.” I will give you that; however, I must also tell you that, if you really want to know Him, doing so will be in direct proportion to the time you spend in solitude, time alone for the purpose of undistracted devotion to God, as He is revealed in three very specific entities:

1. The written Word of God;
2. The Holy Spirit, who reveals the written Word of God; and
3. The person of Jesus, who is the Word of God.

 

Now with all of that said, what is the value of solitude? Why is it so important for believers to spend time in solitude? Why doesn’t group Bible study do just as well? Why isn’t Sunday worship enough?

Group Bible study is wonderful, as long as the members of the group are seeking truth.

Sunday worship is also wonderful, as long as it is not a performance for God.

The problem, however, is this: Christianity is first and foremost about a relationship and relationships require solitude. This particular relationship is one of incredible intimacy, and intimacy requires solitude. If, therefore, you desire to know Him, whom to know is eternal life, solitude is a must.

That said, I will tell you that, when I discovered that Jesus desires and requires solitude for relationship, not as a “boot camp” experience, my entire perspective about solitude changed. You see, early on in my journey, I purposed to do everything that I was told I was supposed to do: have an early morning quiet time; memorize Scripture; have a prayer list and use it; read the “great writers”; and fast, if I were really serious. Again, I am not implying that any of those things are somehow bad. What I am implying, however, that, at least for me, doing them was much like being in boot camp, training to be a soldier in the army of God.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that Christianity is not about “boot camps” but about relationship, everything changed, even the message I preached.

With that, what is the value of solitude?

1. It serves as my reminder that, unlike any other book, God’s Word is alive, not just ink on parchment paper.
2. It provides opportunity for the Living Word to speak directly to me.
3. It stirs my emotions, and that is a good thing.
4. It encourages me to trust Him, even when doing so seems foolish.
5. It makes me increasingly aware of His Presence in my life.
6. It satisfies the deepest longing of my heart.
7. It nourishes my hungry heart.
8. It offers me gift after gift from the heart of Jesus.
9. It motivates me to continue loving others, even the unlovely.
10. It reminds me that He is the “pursuer” and I am the “pursued.”
11. It keeps me reminded of where I came from, of where I am going, and of who I am in the journey.
12. It keeps my mind and heart ready to preach the Gospel.