Solitude or Isolation?

Recently I've been coming across friends and acquaintances who have been challenged in one way or another, drawing them to a place of deeper contemplation over life and their place in the Body of Christ, etc. Some of these challenges are encouragements, sort of a "spurring on," and some are very tough trials that challenge their heart or thinking. But the common denominator is that they're experiencing a sort of separation... from friends, family, peers.

Now we do know that solitude in many ways is a good thing. It's an opportunity to be undisturbed, to focus and muse on life, etc.
We know Jesus many times would slip away from the crowd and be by Himself...

Mark 1:35

"In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there" 

There, Jesus would find solace, direction and most likely some peace and quiet! But we also know of other times when He slipped away by Himself...

Luke 22:41, 44-46

"And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,

And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.

When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow,

and said to them, "Why are you sleeping?"

Two things to note from here...

1. This wasn't just a time of solitude. This was a time of great challenge. Was His faith challenged? Maybe. But the point is that this place of solitude became a place of isolation.

2. Imagine coming out of a time of deep anguish in solitude to find your friends "sleeping," seemingly unaware of what He was going through, let alone caring... That's when it become isolation.

Another example of solitude becoming isolation is in the story of Job.

We know from the story that Job was rich, had many possessions, a big family, and probably a lot of people who surrounded him because of it. (when was the last time you saw a well known rich guy not having people hounding him for money, let alone schmoozing for some place of favor?) 

We also know that God was very impressed with him and showed him off to Satan, whereas Satan of course found an opportunity to do what he does best... torment Job. 

Job lost EVERYTHING... Not only were his possessions and his family wiped out, but he was then given boils! (Job 2:7) Don't tell me that didn't cause a bit of isolation from the rest of society!

But the worst part of Job's isolation was through his well-meaning friends. Job's friends were very quick to offer suggestions of what he must've done to deserve this horrible thing, even to the point of demanding he repent! 

There are a number of stories of God's people in isolation (David, Noah, Paul...) but another worth mentioning was Jonah.

While we know of Jonah's story of running from God, being swallowed by a whale, preaching repentance to Nineveh, etc. we rarely mention how his story all ended...

Jonah 4:5-8

Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it . There he made a shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would happen in the city. So the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about the plant . But God appointed a worm when dawn came the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. When the sun came up God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah's head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying, "Death is better to me than life."

Jonah decided to isolate himself and sulk. After all that he had gone through, he still was selfish and indignant over the situation and God rebuked him! (vs. 9-11)

For those of you who've found yourself in a new place - a place of challenge or of hardship - a place of deep anguish and sorrow or a place of renewal - yet, alone... Know this:

Numbers 16:9

"...is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them" 

It is in the isolation that God meets us. It is in the solitude that we can hear Him. It is in the intimacy that we know Him... and we become His partners. We become His trusted ones, because we trusted Him.