⛲️The Transformative Call Of Solitude

The refiner's fire. No one willingly wants to go where separation turns us into different people. Life can and usually does push us into dry places of being alone. Others often don’t understand the richness and depth that solitude bestows on those who learn to yield to the “quiet & still.”" Regardless of what presses us into these dry places, whether through rejection, overwhelming grief, or just a "knowing" that our inner man is screaming out for quiet solitude, something relentlessly stirs within us. It surprised me how accessible the Father is in these dry and barren places. His voice breaks through once our field of vision clears. This quiet place holds a reservation we didn’t ask for. It becomes an appointed time of inner reconstruction.

It is a blessed season to hear that quiet thunder that makes us inspect every corner of our hearts; to feel the gentle, ongoing nudge that persuades us to do the work of prayerfully purging guilt and hurt, one day at a time. For as long as it takes, this process of yielding in a "state of brokenness" to experience the Heavenly Father building us back, HIS way, in His time, is worth every tear and prayer. Eventually, we come to embrace the stillness and realize we've entered a much-needed transformation zone. Little things begin to stand out. Somehow, colors begin to appear richer; the air has a freshness that makes us breathe deeper and long to be in His creation. The simple rhythmic sound of a ticking clock causes contemplation of the miraculous way our breath sustains us; the wonderment of our heart beating in perfect cadence. Life's heaviness becomes lighter and less cumbersome the more we learn how to listen when YHVH speaks.

Finally, we surrender all. The last, the most significant stronghold, the ego, is on its way out. Our ego is the deep-seated, gripping hand of pride and its ugly sister-companion, "control." Plans and agendas are eventually removed from the altar of our own will and relinquished to the Will of the Most High. Though we don't know what Father’s plan is, there's an unfamiliar comfort in surrendering control of life and yielding to the Holy Spirit's perfection, leading us by faith, day to day. What unexpected treasures He unlocks for those pressed into a season of "being still." This inner awakening usually comes about by the convergence of circumstances beyond our control, yet for our betterment. Finally, here we are. We have ultimately yielded, poured ourselves out, been wiped clean, and no longer resist.

This misunderstood place of solitude disturbs our "observers." They cannot discern the benefits of this inner construction zone, and they are completely baffled by what they see. It's a process uncomfortable for them to watch; they most often retreat, wholly bewildered about what is happening to this person they once knew, and unable to understand the new person we’re becoming. We often get labeled because others equate solitude with unhappiness, when in fact we're yielding to solitude because so much noise interferes with hearing the Messiah speak to our heart.

Like oil lamps, our wicks require trimming so we can burn brighter. We trim our wicks by avoiding pitfalls that extinguish inner light. We deny gossip, unforgiveness, and sharp words entry, and we separate ourselves from those who harbor them. We commune with the light and carry it with us as we rest in the assurance that we never walk alone. We are better, cleaner, and richer in Spirit for the season spent in that dry and barren place; that time of brokenness and inner reconstruction.

If you feel yourself going into a place where you've become set apart, don't be fearful of this season of searching, weeping in prayer, and being still- uncomfortable? Yes, but we find a beautiful, necessary gift veiled in solitude. When your circumstances deliver you into this precious season of "leveling-up," it will keep you for as long as it takes for His Will to become your own; it is a time of arriving at your appointment to become who He called you to be.

John 4:14 - But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting life!