In Solitude with God My Father
Excerpt from the book God is My
Delight by W.
Phillip Keller c. Kregel, 1991, 2010
Chapter 1
For many people solitude is abhorrent. They equate it with loneliness. They consider solitude a form of punishment as they recoil in fear from the idea of being alone.
We do not have to go far to find the reason for this common dislike of solitude. We of the Western world have through increasing concentration of our population in large metropolitan communities developed a pronounced “ant-heap” lifestyle. Masses of people rushing to and fro lend the false impression of a community bound up in intimate “togetherness.”
As a society we put enormous emphasis on the merits of being in close association with one another. We pay great respect to those who can best communicate with each other. We give courses, teach seminars, and write books about how to win friends and influence others. We are completely convinced that it is the person who is ever surrounded with a swarm of associates who has truly succeeded.
The peculiar paradox is that amid all this emphasis on “togetherness” we are perhaps the most lonely society to emerge in history. Never were so many people haunted by the fear of being alone as today. At home, families fragmented and torn by the tensions of our times turn to the television set, the tape deck, or the telephone to fill their empty hours. For many, their favorite singers or television actors are better known than brother or sister, father or mother. There is endless electronic gadgetry devised to duplicate or replace meaningful human relationships. Both children and adults now spend hours and hours playing games against the television or computer screen. There is no need to have another person present. The subtle subversion of computer technology reassures them they are not alone.
For as strange as it sounds, in our society, to be alone is to be forgotten.
To be alone is to be overlooked.
To be alone is not to count.
To be alone is really to be a failure!
Solitary Confinement
In fact, so much is this a part of our value system, the supreme punishment meted out in our prision system is solitary confinement.
What then, in the face of our common fears of solitude, can the man of God, who is His friend, say about this peculiar phobia that haunts humanity? For even amongst so-called religious people there is a curious aversion to solitude. So much emphasis is placed upon fellowship. So much time is devoted to meetings, gatherings and group sessions. People are convinced that strength lies in community. They believe serenity comes only from continuous contact with their contemporaries. Many are sure that success is measured in massed numbers—never in solitude.
Perhaps we have been deluded!
Perhaps our culture of community has misled us!
Perhaps people need someone other than just more people in their experience to be fulfilled!
Yes, they do! They need to encounter The Living God in utter stillness. They need to be alone with Him—perfectly still in soul and spirit with His Spirit, receptive to the pervading presence of our Living Father God. He wants to commune with them.
He longs to disclose His person to those who quietly yearn for Him.
He yearns for their companionship—as a loving father cherishes his child’s company.
If God is to be known; if He is to be met; if He is to become my intimate, it can be only within the solitude of my spirit. I encounter Him in stillness of soul through His Word and by His Holy Spirit who makes Christ real.
During these rare and precious interludes, outside distractions and intrusions must not impinge upon the inner peace. There must be profound and wondrous “quiet” wherein we are aware of the “still small voice” of God Himself.
The terrible travesty of our times is that the media and all other forms of so-called entertainment are designed to dispel solitude. The continuous cacophony of our culture precludes these rare periods of quiet contemplation during which we can meet quietly with our Father. Noise pollution of a hundred sorts makes silence, stillness and solitude remote and unattainable for many people. Our senses, our souls, our spirits are assailed remorselessly. Little wonder that minds and emotions break down under such assaults. In the midst of this mayhem our Father invites us to withdraw and spend time with Him. He beckons us to green meadows and still waters. But most of us spurn His call.
Why? Why are we reluctant to respond?
We are afraid we may be found out!
Inner Aloneness
So many are “empty” within. A strange, painful gnawing vacuum persists in the depths of their person. This inner “aloneness” is ever present. Few know or realize it is a profound yearning for God Himself. In His wondrous design, He intended us for His own companionship. Nor are we ever complete until we find our fulfillment in Him as our constant Companion.
Instead, most people recoil in fear from this inner aloneness. They endeavor to fill this inner vacuum with fun, gaiety, games, study, work, or other human activities of a thousand sorts. In desperation they may even resort to sound, music, drugs, alcohol or sexual adventures. All are an escape from their selves-in-solitude. Still they are never free of fear.
Yet it is within this inner stillness that our Father can speak to us most clearly. It is there alone with Him that He becomes real to our inner intuition of spirit. It is there that we begin to “see” Him most acutely with the perception of our awakened conscience in response to His Word. There we sense and know His Presence. He interacts with us in our deepening conviction through His wondrous Word and by his Gracious Spirit.
For the man or woman who comes to know and love God as Father in such intimacy, the times of solitude are the exquisite in all of life. They are “a rendezvous with the Beloved.” They are anticipated eagerly; awaited with acute expectancy; relished with enthusiasm. In a word, these times are highlights of life.
Being alone with God takes time. It demands an element of self-discipline to make the effort to meet Him in person. It calls for a deliberate act of the will step aside from the activities of the world around us into the solitude of spiritual serenity with our Father.
In solitude, in stillness, God’s desires become my desires. His wishes become my wishes. His aims become my aims for peace, contentment, and repose in a chaotic world. He is here. All is well!
Solitude is not just for special saints.
Solitude is not just for super-spiritual souls.
Solitude is for the common man on the common road of life who truly wishes to know God and enjoy Him forever!
Chapter 1
For many people solitude is abhorrent. They equate it with loneliness. They consider solitude a form of punishment as they recoil in fear from the idea of being alone.
We do not have to go far to find the reason for this common dislike of solitude. We of the Western world have through increasing concentration of our population in large metropolitan communities developed a pronounced “ant-heap” lifestyle. Masses of people rushing to and fro lend the false impression of a community bound up in intimate “togetherness.”
As a society we put enormous emphasis on the merits of being in close association with one another. We pay great respect to those who can best communicate with each other. We give courses, teach seminars, and write books about how to win friends and influence others. We are completely convinced that it is the person who is ever surrounded with a swarm of associates who has truly succeeded.
The peculiar paradox is that amid all this emphasis on “togetherness” we are perhaps the most lonely society to emerge in history. Never were so many people haunted by the fear of being alone as today. At home, families fragmented and torn by the tensions of our times turn to the television set, the tape deck, or the telephone to fill their empty hours. For many, their favorite singers or television actors are better known than brother or sister, father or mother. There is endless electronic gadgetry devised to duplicate or replace meaningful human relationships. Both children and adults now spend hours and hours playing games against the television or computer screen. There is no need to have another person present. The subtle subversion of computer technology reassures them they are not alone.
For as strange as it sounds, in our society, to be alone is to be forgotten.
To be alone is to be overlooked.
To be alone is not to count.
To be alone is really to be a failure!
Solitary Confinement
In fact, so much is this a part of our value system, the supreme punishment meted out in our prision system is solitary confinement.
What then, in the face of our common fears of solitude, can the man of God, who is His friend, say about this peculiar phobia that haunts humanity? For even amongst so-called religious people there is a curious aversion to solitude. So much emphasis is placed upon fellowship. So much time is devoted to meetings, gatherings and group sessions. People are convinced that strength lies in community. They believe serenity comes only from continuous contact with their contemporaries. Many are sure that success is measured in massed numbers—never in solitude.
Perhaps we have been deluded!
Perhaps our culture of community has misled us!
Perhaps people need someone other than just more people in their experience to be fulfilled!
Yes, they do! They need to encounter The Living God in utter stillness. They need to be alone with Him—perfectly still in soul and spirit with His Spirit, receptive to the pervading presence of our Living Father God. He wants to commune with them.
He longs to disclose His person to those who quietly yearn for Him.
He yearns for their companionship—as a loving father cherishes his child’s company.
If God is to be known; if He is to be met; if He is to become my intimate, it can be only within the solitude of my spirit. I encounter Him in stillness of soul through His Word and by His Holy Spirit who makes Christ real.
During these rare and precious interludes, outside distractions and intrusions must not impinge upon the inner peace. There must be profound and wondrous “quiet” wherein we are aware of the “still small voice” of God Himself.
The terrible travesty of our times is that the media and all other forms of so-called entertainment are designed to dispel solitude. The continuous cacophony of our culture precludes these rare periods of quiet contemplation during which we can meet quietly with our Father. Noise pollution of a hundred sorts makes silence, stillness and solitude remote and unattainable for many people. Our senses, our souls, our spirits are assailed remorselessly. Little wonder that minds and emotions break down under such assaults. In the midst of this mayhem our Father invites us to withdraw and spend time with Him. He beckons us to green meadows and still waters. But most of us spurn His call.
Why? Why are we reluctant to respond?
We are afraid we may be found out!
Inner Aloneness
So many are “empty” within. A strange, painful gnawing vacuum persists in the depths of their person. This inner “aloneness” is ever present. Few know or realize it is a profound yearning for God Himself. In His wondrous design, He intended us for His own companionship. Nor are we ever complete until we find our fulfillment in Him as our constant Companion.
Instead, most people recoil in fear from this inner aloneness. They endeavor to fill this inner vacuum with fun, gaiety, games, study, work, or other human activities of a thousand sorts. In desperation they may even resort to sound, music, drugs, alcohol or sexual adventures. All are an escape from their selves-in-solitude. Still they are never free of fear.
Yet it is within this inner stillness that our Father can speak to us most clearly. It is there alone with Him that He becomes real to our inner intuition of spirit. It is there that we begin to “see” Him most acutely with the perception of our awakened conscience in response to His Word. There we sense and know His Presence. He interacts with us in our deepening conviction through His wondrous Word and by his Gracious Spirit.
For the man or woman who comes to know and love God as Father in such intimacy, the times of solitude are the exquisite in all of life. They are “a rendezvous with the Beloved.” They are anticipated eagerly; awaited with acute expectancy; relished with enthusiasm. In a word, these times are highlights of life.
Being alone with God takes time. It demands an element of self-discipline to make the effort to meet Him in person. It calls for a deliberate act of the will step aside from the activities of the world around us into the solitude of spiritual serenity with our Father.
In solitude, in stillness, God’s desires become my desires. His wishes become my wishes. His aims become my aims for peace, contentment, and repose in a chaotic world. He is here. All is well!
Solitude is not just for special saints.
Solitude is not just for super-spiritual souls.
Solitude is for the common man on the common road of life who truly wishes to know God and enjoy Him forever!
