8 Spiritual Disciplines: Six-Solitude

My darling friend, we have made it to number six! I’m excited! If you have been on this journey with me, my heart is that you are feeling closer to God, and you are seeing life transformations happen, big and small. I know my faith is being strengthened and I hope yours is too.

I pray while studying these spiritual disciplines you’ve started to develop life long habits that inspire and encourage you towards a stronger faith and connection with our heavenly Father. I also hope that as you are living out these disciplines in your life, you are starting to reap the fruit of the Spirit! If you missed the first 5 spiritual disciplines and why they are important, don’t worry, I’ve included the links below. You can get started transforming your life, and growing closer to God today!

8 Spiritual Disciplines: What Are They & Why Are They Important?

8 Spiritual Disciplines: One-Scripture Reading, Memorizing, & Reflecting

8 Spiritual Disciplines: Two- Prayer

8 Spiritual Disciplines: Three-Fasting

8 Spiritual Disciplines: Four-Worship

8 Spiritual Disciplines: Five-Service

8 Spiritual Disciplines: Six-Solitude

I’ll be honest with you. I’m familiar with solitude. I’m by myself for eight hours daily. I work from home, not as a blogger-that would be awesome- but as a nurse. It’s just me and a whole lot of work. My co-workers are stationed back home in Indiana, while I now reside in Kentucky. So, unless the kids are on break from school, I’m completely by myself.

I know that solitude can strengthen your relationship with God, because it was in my own solitude I first started seeking and building my relationship with Him. I had little to no relationship with God prior to 2013, I just never had a chance to get to know Him. This is one of the reasons I feel so passionately about my children’s faith. It was in my most intense moments of solitude, that I started to feel His tugs. It was in my solitude that I started to acknowledge and feel His presence. Away from the world and influence of others, I was able to finally connect with my Father.

I love my Webster dictionary, so will you indulge my weird nerdy obsession with words and look at the very definition of solitude with me?

Solitude: 1: the quality or state of being alone or remote from society (seclusion) 2: a lonely place

Synonyms would include words such as: Loneliness, solitariness, isolation, seclusion, sequestration, withdrawal, privacy, peace.

It was in my eight hours of being alone, away from society that I began to realize that my life was missing something of great importance. I began to search for what was missing. Away from the influence of society and outside sources I began to hear my own hearts cry. I had never truly experienced solitude before. I went straight from living with my parents, to living with my husband. We had our first child soon after we were together. During those first years of our relationship I went to college, had a beautiful baby girl, started to build a career, and added our second beautiful baby girl. There simply was no time to sit in solitude and examine myself, and my needs. I had to focus on everything else.

The reality is without the hours of solitude in my life…God wouldn’t have been able to reach me.

Ours lives fill up so quickly, and for some of us solitude is just a mysterious word that we long for, but never truly experience. Being extremely “busy” is the norm, and almost an expectation. Our lives are jammed packed with task to complete, people to care for, and responsibilities to handle. Even when we do have a few seconds of potential solitude, we fill them with visual and auditory stimulation, such as music, TV, Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. We rarely devote the time to self-analysis. Nor do we devote the time to tuning into God’s desires for our lives.

Can you relate?

I truly hated my eight hours of solitude when I first made the transition from working in a busy office to working solo at home. It was hard. But now I realize what a true blessing God has given me. In the eight hours of my day, while I work quietly at my desk, I am able to listen to sermons, play worship music, or sit in complete silence while thinking about life and my next steps. I can pray, listen to God, and strengthen my faith. And that’s exactly what I do. In my moments of solitude I feel closer to God than in a church filled with hundreds. My one on one relationship with Him has bloomed into a beautiful relationship I simply couldn’t live without. It was in the moments of solitude that the idea for lettinghislightshine.com was born, I realized my true passion for ministry, and encouraging and inspiring others in their walks of faith.

But I realize my reality may not be yours.

I spoke with my little sister on the phone today, she has three children six years and under. On some days, she adds to the mix another niece she baby sits for, she just turned two. My sister sounded tired, and honestly a bit stressed out. I asked her what was wrong and she said, “I just need some time alone.” She craved a moment of solitude, and honestly she would have been happy to have two minutes by herself to use the bathroom. Her reality is not mine and maybe you can relate to her more than me.

Solitude can be hard to find.

But my darling friend we must find it. I am proof of its importance. I am proof of its ability to transform your life and how important it is in growing a strong intimate relationship with God.

Why We Need to Seek Solitude:

Jesus shows us in the New Testament how beneficial seeking solitude can be. Jesus often withdrew to solitary places to pray, ask for God’s guidance, prepare, and rest. He encouraged the disciples to do the same.

Seeking solitude in our lives is important, because it helps us to refresh our minds, bodies, and souls. Our body needs rest, physically and spiritually. This is best achieved in moments of complete solitude and silence.
It gives us an opportunity to connect with God, tuning into the signals and directions He has for our lives. When we live lives full of distractions, we miss God trying to communicate with us. By seeking solitude in our day-to-day lives, we can connect with God for guidance, prepare for our next steps, find rest, and spend time speaking directly to Him.

Tips and Ticks to Help You Find Solitude:

Start with prayer: Invite God to be present with you in your moments of solitude. Ask God to use this time to examine your heart and mind, and help lead and guide you onto the paths He has planed for you. Seek His presence and allow Him to speak to you in these moments of solitude.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

If we don’t take time to connect with God one on one, He can’t properly relay to us the plans He has for our lives.

Start a routine that works: This will be different for every one of us. Think practical. When and how can your work solitude into your day?

During your children’s nap time?
During the drive to or from work?
Is the best time your lunch break?
Or a walk by yourself around your neighborhood or at the park (think nature, sunshine, peace, and quiet!)?
Is it a half hour before bed, snuggled up with a cup of hot coco?
Maybe a bubble bath?
It can be as simple as enjoying a cup of coffee or ice tea in a quiet secluded spot

The key is to turn off everything around you, put your cell phone on do not disturb, withdrawal from everyone, and seek a peaceful place. Your goal is to connect and focus on God, while taking time to reflect on yourself and your life. Clear your mind and relax in the presence of your Father. Yes, my darling friend I’m encouraging you to take a break from your busy life, put your to do list down, and seek solitude.

Seeking solitude is not about being selfish! It is a need. It is important.

Stick to your routine: I want to tell you this needs to be done EVERY DAY, but the reality is that may not work for you. I just want to encourage you to make a goal, set a plan, and enforce it.

For example: I will find time to be alone with my own thoughts, for the purpose of self-reflection, and connecting with God for 30 minutes four times a week.

Go from there, adjusting your goal. If you are anything like me it is super easy for you to place yourself last, and everyone including the cat before your own needs. Please listen to me when I tell you that this is important, and you are so worth it. Do not use how busy you are as an excuse to neglect your personal growth, and your relationship with God.

Having trouble? So sitting still for 15 minutes without an electronic in your hand or doing something/anything is challenging for you? Are you not sure how to reflect and connect? Go ahead and grab a Bible, a journal, a devotional, or a Bible study. Any of these will help you with personal reflection, while encouraging you to connect with God. I personally love short devotionals and journaling during my times of solitude.

Wishing you the best of luck in finding some peace and quite, as you withdrawal from the world around you, to reflect and connect with God.

Do you know someone who would be encouraged by this Blog Post? Please share! By doing so you are helping spread His Light to others 🙂

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As always your thoughts and comments are welcome!! Connecting is so important in forming Godly relationships!

My darling friends we are over half way through our 8 spiritual disciplines!! God has been dealing with me, and my heart is that He is also dealing with you. I have experienced greater personal growth than I expected. I’ve shed tears as He’s revealed truths to me I had not seen before. My relationship with Him is closer than ever. I am starting to see life transformations take place as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more evident in my life. I pray this is true for you as well!

If you missed the first six post in this series don’t worry, it’s not to late to join us! The links are below and I encourage you to get started today, you won’t regret it. Work through them at your own pace, taking time to establish good habits that last a life time.