Category: General

You asked, and we answered! Over the next few weeks we will be sharing some of the questions that were submitted during our 2022 Harvest Women’s Retreat, and the answers from some of the women in our church.

Just because we are older doesn’t mean it’s too late to use the gifts God has given us.  I’ve found that in different seasons of my life, I have been able to use different gifts.  Maybe you think you have wasted your gifts, when really, you have just been using gifts doing the things that you were called on to do at that point in your life.  For example, as a mom, I used the gifts of administration or service many times, organizing my children’s activities and providing for their needs.  Now that my kids are grown, I have the chance to apply those gifts to other areas of life, like church or volunteer work.  So, my gifts were not wasted when they were used in my family.  I believe that spiritual gifts are useful in all areas of our lives, not just at church.

Sometimes getting a little older gives me more time to practice using some gifts that I hadn’t explored before.  Being older brings with it lots of experiences that have (hopefully) developed some wisdom.  Because I have been through some things in life, I can offer encouragement and empathize with women who are just now experiencing them.  I have testimonies that I can share.  I have had a longer relationship with the Holy Spirit to understand some things that I did not understand earlier in life.

If you do not know what your gifts are, look at the things you are drawn to.  Do you love to give to people?  Do you enjoy organizing things?  Do you enjoy working with children or babies?  Do you thrive on Bible study or telling others about Jesus?  What you enjoy can give you a clue to your spiritual gifts.  Also, ask your best friend or your husband what they see that you are good at.  They can often recognize your giftedness when you have overlooked it.  

If you think you might have a gift but are not sure, why not just try it?  Step out of your comfort zone and take a chance – just once.  You might be surprised at the outcome.  Take a turn at serving in Kid City.  Offer to help by cooking or serve on the greeter team.  Offer to pray for people and write them an encouraging note.  If something grabs your interest, go for it!  You may think that your gift is not an important one, but EVERY gift is worth celebrating.  And it’s never too late to get started.

We would like to thank Sheri Warren for answering this question.

What comes to mind when you hear the word Diligence?

I think of the ant that works away during the summer…I felt like a joyful ant growing up. 

When I was 5 years old, my family would wake up and get dressed at 4:00am, and we’d drive to work the cotton fields.  I would run through the fields carrying jugs of water and placing them strategically under tall weeds to keep cool.  I would go back to grab the hoe and help my family work so we could help the beautiful West Texas cotton thrive without weeds hindering their growth.

My mother was a single mom, and I was her only child until I was a teenager. My grandmother lived with us, whom I lovingly called mom as well, and she practically raised me while my mother worked.  She had twelve children, and some lived with us.  

I sometimes think about how both of my mom’s worked hard all their lives. They were diligent women.

I didn’t get a chance to meet my father until I was older, although I did have eight wonderful uncles that taught me how to tell time, gave me lots of quarters to buy stuff, took me fishing and let me listen to Mr. Roboto by Styx, George Strait, and Neil Diamond – why?  Those apparently were some of my favorites!  My uncles also showed me how they worked hard at their jobs, and they loved softball.  There were so many other endearing memories that were made growing up in a big family.  These were diligent men in my life.

Maybe you wonder like I have – what does it mean to be a diligent person?

Diligent comes from the Latin diligere, which means ‘to value highly, take delight in,’ but in English it has always meant careful and hard-working.  If you’re a diligent worker, you don’t just bang away at your job; you earnestly try to do everything right.

The Bible defines diligence as: “the effort to do one’s part while keeping faith and reliance on God.  In other words, diligence and faith are two sides of the mystery.  One does not know how, despite one’s effort, it all works out; but diligence when combined with faith, assures spiritual success.”

I love to work! I love to be diligent in my work! I take delight in it. I love to display beauty and to exhort others. I love people and I love to let them know, without a doubt, that they are seen, valued, and loved! I’ve come to find out that although hard work is good and I’ve spent most of my life being diligent in most things, the most vital things to be diligent in, are the things that God wants for you and has for you.

I didn’t always have that.  I’ve had great examples of secular hard work.  I didn’t grow up in the church, but since the moment I gave my life to Jesus, I have never turned away.  I am diligent in my love for Jesus! Knowing that He would never fail me, leave me, or turn from me is what has sustained me. I’ve had many moments where I found myself learning about biblical diligence and truths that I had never seen modeled.  Ecclesiastes 3:1, says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…”

In 2018, God taught me to be diligent in my rest.  I’ve worked hard all my life and the game changer happened while attending Gateway’s Conference.  I had tears running down my face because Robert Morris’ story – being near death’s door—mirrored my story just the year before.  We were both healed, by the grace of God.  I remember hearing how God commands us – not requests, but commands us— to rest.  I now rest diligently.

It’s very important to find balance.  Sometimes you must pour more into your marriage, children, or work, but always— yes, always— find time to rest.  You are honoring God not only with your body, but with your heart, mind, and soul when you rest.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the human heart…”

Scripture is so important in our day to day lives and I’ve held onto Romans 12:9-11 during different seasons of my life.  It says, “Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

I’d like to leave you with this important truth…spend time with Jesus and ask Him what he wants you to be diligent in during this season of your life.  The Holy Spirit is faithful in hearing and guiding you. God is good, all the time! I pray that your heart becomes diligent – able to make better what has been found in your due season of faith and to take delight in it.  God can saturate you with joy in doing the hard things.

I hope, while you’ve read this that you’ve been able to grasp a bit about me, how I grew up and what my heart is. My encouragement for you is to live out what Matthew 22:37 says, “Love your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.”  

Grow and be diligent in new things.  Go from glory to glory.  Much love to you my sweet friends!

We would like to thank Mandy Villarreal for writing this post.

This month, we’ve been talking about Knowledge from 2 Peter 1:3-8.  

I’m going to get a little nerdy as we think about what hinders God’s divine knowledge. Philosophically speaking, there are four levels of knowledge:

1. What I know I know. 
2. What I know I don’t know. 
3. What I don’t know but think I know. 
4. What I don’t know I don’t know. 

Let’s toss out Number 4 because these are unknowable, right? If we don’t know we don’t know, then we don’t know. 😊

But what do we know? What do we not know? And what do we think we know, but don’t actually know? 

I can wallow in the 2 and 3 here. I can get frustrated by what I don’t know. And I can get stuck in a place where I think I know better. 

One of our twins struggled with eating from the very beginning. She started losing weight in the hospital, like all babies do, but she lost more than 10% in her first few days and that’s not normal, so we knew pretty early on that she wasn’t getting enough to eat. 

We knew there was a problem. And if you know me, I’m like let’s find a solution! 

Me and Google. We’re going to figure this thing out, right? 

There’s no peace in that, unfortunately.

And it leads to Number 3—where I think I know, but I don’t actually know. 

So I pushed and pushed and around seven weeks, Halle was finally diagnosed with a tongue tie. But she had some other issues as well, and so we had to wait to get it resolved. 

And I wish I could say I was patient. I wish I could say I just trusted that the doctor and other specialists working with her knew better, that they knew what they were doing. 

But the truth is, I just stewed for three more weeks, struggling through seven feedings a day—about seven hours of my day spent trying to will my sweet, colic-y baby into eating. And all the while thinking, if only they’d fix this tongue tie, she would be better. Nothing else we’re trying is working. 

I KNOW if they would just do the procedure, she’d be better. 

Then, we got Halle’s tongue tie fixed around 10 weeks. And it made a teeny tiny improvement in her eating, but not really in her weight gain. 

I thought I knew. But I didn’t actually know. 

James 4:6 says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 

Do you know what pride is? It’s when we think we know better. When we think we know everything, God opposes us. And He leaves us there until we figure out that we need to surrender to His knowledge and His sovereignty. 

“I don’t know, but you know” has become one of my almost daily prayers. 

If I focus on what I don’t know, I’m frustrated. If I focus on what I think I know, I’m fooled. But if I focus on Him, I am fulfilled. 

We only have to know the One who knows it all. 

We surrender what we don’t know, or what we think we know, and we humble ourselves before the One who knows. We press in to know Him more.

And so that’s what I did. And true to His word, God met me. And in his graciousness, he gave me a word of knowledge about Halle. Since then He’s given me two prophetic words about her. 

These are not medical diagnoses. They are insights into her heart and her soul and have directed the way that I pray for her and for me. 

Sometimes we have to surrender what we think we know in order to get God’s divine knowledge, in order to be reminded of who He is and what He has accomplished for us and what we can do through Him. 

What unknowns are you facing right now? 

Maybe you’re in the midst of a big decision, and you don’t know which path to take. 

Maybe you’ve got a child who is struggling in this season, and you don’t know how to help them. You would fix it if you could, but you just don’t know. 

Maybe you’re waiting on a promise. You’re waiting on a word God has given you. You don’t know when He’ll fulfill it. You don’t know why it hasn’t happened yet.

God knows. 

Wherever you find yourself, God already knows. He knows you intimately. He knows your situation intimately. He knows all your doubts and your fears and your anxiety. He even knows when you think you know better. 

So, we can just lay it all down and take refuge in this truth: We only have to know the One who knows it all. 

We would like to thank Laura Brandenburg for writing this post.

Philippians 1:9-11 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation – the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus – for this will bring much glory and praise to God.  

Knowledge is the condition of knowing something through experience. Experience is the key – knowledge is easily confused with preparation.  

We can read, research, and learn about something all day long – but until we actually dive in and give it a try we will never have actual knowledge on a subject, whatever it may be.  

Think of a mom – pregnant for the first time: we read all the books, have all the apps, gather all the baby gear – this is preparation. Knowledge grows as you experience the baby’s behavior and must adapt, adjust, and truly learn how to care for the child moment to moment, day to day, year to year. 

Think of school/college/training – we go to class, read the textbooks, do the assignments, pass the tests – this is preparation. Knowledge grows in the real-time work experiences, dealing with people, unforeseen circumstances, working through disasters and victories.

The same is true of our walk with God. Daily we should be reading the Word, praying for guidance, seeking truth, guarding our hearts, listening to the Spirit…. this is preparation.  

When we have prepared and trials come, and we all know they do, we have the ultimate source of life to tap in to. The Word will be readily on our lips to speak over a situation. We will know where to turn for the guidelines and guidance we need. We will have the truths of God hidden in our minds and we will be able to apply His promises over whatever is before us. Our hearts will be prepared to handle the fiery darts the world shoots at us daily. We will be in tune with the Spirit and know how to listen and discern for the Lord’s will and direction.   

This spiritual preparation will allow us to walk through the fire and come out refined – this is how we grow in knowledge and understanding.  Just as Paul prayed in the scripture above, we realize that through Jesus we are able to live pure and blameless lives while waiting on Jesus to return.  We will experience a life filled with the fruits of our salvation and a righteous character will be evident in our lives.  In this knowledge is where we find that true and unexplainable peace spoken of in 

Philippians 4:6 In every situation with petition and thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  

This process of preparing to grow in knowledge that leads to peace has to be continuously repeated until we meet Jesus face to face and He is welcoming us home as good and faithful servants.  

We would like to thank Jill Winders for writing this post

Growing up it seems as if I always knew who God was. I was raised in a church setting and had my salvation by the age of six years old. I had a family who was highly involved in church and I studied his word through many church programs. I knew The Lord, I knew his word, but it wasn’t until adulthood I fully captured the true meaning and depth behind his word. 

Two things that come to mind when I think of KNOWING His word is first, knowing his words are always written out of a heart of LOVE. Our Heavenly Father always has the best intentions for us, no matter how we receive verses or biblical truth. The second thing is that his Word is always TRUE. That means when God’s word says things about you and how you were made in his image, it’s true. I want to explain more in depth on these concepts. 

First of all God’s words are LOVE. Growing up, I didn’t always look at scripture as loving. There’s one verse, in particular that stood out to me. “Numbers 23:32 You may be sure, your sin will always find you out.” That was a little terrifying for me my entire childhood and teenage years. I felt as if there was God lurking in the shadows ready to pounce on me as soon as I messed up. This turned a loving God, who wanted the best for me, into a God who was ready to call me out on my sins, not up to his heavenly realm. I was wrong, though. Every bit of scripture, every testimony in the Bible, every proverb and psalm written, every piece of the Bible, was written with the intentions of love, to guide us in a life filled with abundance and joy and all the fruits of the spirit. That’s when KNOWING God’s words are written out of LOVE that we get to have that entire perspective change.

The second thing that stood out to me is KNOWING God’s word is always true. Even when you don’t feel like you are made in his image. Even when you don’t think you fit the criteria of “Child of God”. Even when you don’t feel like you are forgiven, or accepted, or redeemed. His words reign true until the end of time. I have heard this said before, “if one thing in the Bible isn’t true, that invalidates the entire Bible and God is not a liar.” So on days where I felt less than virtuous or less than called, I remind myself that I KNOW God’s words are always TRUE, no matter what situation I face or what my emotions may tell me.

Knowing God in this way and his words in this way, has changed my life. It has lead me to a deeper, lasting relationship with him. It overflows into my marriage, the way I parent, the way I work, and the relationships I have with others. I want that for you, and I know God wants that for you too. I pray you know God’s words are LOVE and TRUE. 

We would like to thank Sarah Perry for writing this post

You want me to talk about solitude? Yikes is what comes to mind for me. I have been one that panics when I am alone.  I was with my family until I got married.  I got married and suddenly the husband is in the picture. Because of many reasons, one being I was very lonely even though I was living with my husband, we divorced.  I moved in with a friend and lived a year, but then I got an ultimatum to move.  I knew I needed to move, but I totally feared being alone. I wasn’t afraid of what could happen to me, but being a people person, it was hard for me to wrap my mind around this concept. I had never been alone, I thought, so how could I move into a place BY MYSELF!  

I was in church, but I didn’t rely on the Lord as much as I could have because I didn’t know that I could.  I didn’t even think about asking God to hang out with me.  Solitude to me seemed miserable.  What do you do when you are alone and lonely?  You find people to be around, and may I say, I didn’t always find the best ones to hang out with.  Eventually I quit going to church, so I found friends “in low places” as Garth Brooks said.  Not all of them were bad, but they weren’t in church where I needed to be.  I should have been seeking after the Lord instead of the wrong people.

I think of the story of Joseph and I relate to him in some ways.  In Genesis chapter 37 is where his story begins.  He has a dream about being “over” his brothers, and tells them about it…I would have told, too.  They take him away from all that he knows and are going to kill him.  And you know the rest of the story; he is taken to a far away place and is put in jail.  He is ALONE, and knows no one. I would have been so afraid.  This is where I didn’t relate; he talked to the Lord a lot.  And he did become great because of his relationship with God.  His times of solitude with the Lord is what got Him through. This is what I should have tried in my times of loneliness.  

And what about Job? Boy did he go through the fire. He was alone even though his friends came around. He might as well have been alone with how they treated him, but he stayed true to the Lord and spent much time of solitude with God and asked God hard questions. Job prevailed because God was right there beside him in his loneliness.  

Here I am today, retired with Dewitt, so we aren’t alone much. I have learned how to be alone and not be lonely. In December of 2010, when I started coming to Harvest, I truly began to learn how to spend time alone with Jesus. I had been in churches for most of my life, but I didn’t hear the good news of having a personal relationship with Him. I was afraid to be alone with Jesus because I thought He knew too much about me and didn’t want to spend time with me. Crazy! I would read the word, but not really hear it and apply it to me.  

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

This scripture is so special to me because I was weary of not wanting to be alone and running from Jesus, the only one I really needed to hang out with.

I cherish my times of solitude now. I read the word and talk to Jesus.  And I ask Him hard questions like Job and don’t feel like I am going to be struck down. I like my alone time so much that I stay in one part of the house while Dewitt is on the other. Sometimes I will text him or call him to ask something of him just because I am enjoying my time alone, and he does the same.  We do sit and talk to each other a lot, but sometimes it is just good to be alone with Jesus.

Here I am in my “golden years” and I am finally content with being me and spending quality time with Jesus.

We’d like to thank Debbie Crosby for writing this post

Solitude. The very word used to cause me to catch my breath. I have a big family and quiet moments were rare. But when they did happen, I became filled with fear, shame, or both from traumas that occurred to me as a small child. The trauma manifested into fear in every area of my life and made everything difficult, including relationships. I cried through my entire first semester of college any time I was alone! It was truly crippling and prevented me from living life in the abundance that the Lord wants for His children.

All of that changed around 2014-2015. Some wonderful women tuned into the Holy Spirit mentored me, spoke life and peace to my soul, and eventually my walls began to crumble. The Holy Spirit removed chains and broke generational curses off that I had no idea was hindering me in so many ways. In their place, Jesus brought redemption and a confidence in Him that I had never experienced. He brought me out of a season that had been filled with sadness and impatience, to one filled with hope and expectancy. All of this was accomplished in solitude with Him. When I finally let go and surrendered all of myself to Him, He became my refuge and His spirit ministered to my soul in those moments of abiding with him. He refreshed me and gave me new perspective and purpose for my life.

One day as I sat in my little home with my cat in my lap and my dog laying on the floor by my feet, He told me this season wouldn’t last forever and it wouldn’t always be this easy to find a peaceful moment alone. I thought great! I’ve been waiting for that! But He whispered again to enjoy this moment. Enjoy this season right where you are and this time we have together. Matthew 6:33 states to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He was asking me to dive deep into this love relationship and commune with Him. 

In every season of life, He beckons us to draw near and sit at His feet. I have found now that I have a family those rare quiet moments seem impossible to find some days. Proverbs 8:34-35 has become my mission. “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord;”

The Lord is always watching and waiting for you and I. I hope we all will find time to answer His gentle nudge and come running to His gates with anticipation for His presence to meet us. I hope we will choose to let the Holy Spirit minister to our hearts today in whatever season we are in currently. It is not always easy in our culture, but it is what we all so desperately need.

We would like to thank Christian Greer for writing this post

As I write about solitude, I just want to be clear. I’m not talking about the worlds view or maybe your own. Which is defined as the state or quality of being alone; loneliness, isolation, seclusion. I’m talking about intentional, specific alone times of solitude between you and Jesus in prayer; where you are real, letting your guard down and can share your deepest concerns with him. Where you are strengthened and refreshed from where ever you find yourself in life. You see God gave us this gift of solitude to not feel lonely or shut everyone out, but to have a way out to get out of ourselves and the world around us and step into his divine nature and be with him.

I believe God does things on purpose, I believe that he intentionally moves and allow things in our lives to bring us closer to him and into living a life of solitude with him. He has all the answers for the everything in life we face. I know this is where he was leading me over the past few months.

September of this past year I gave birth to my son. I had a wonderful pregnancy despite some health problems I had to work through. Shortly after giving birth to him, this chain of events started that would take me to an unexpected place in my life for several months. 

Four days after giving birth to him I developed this horrible, rare, post-partum rash, and it stopped me from caring for my baby in a way that I never expected. Then, at two months old, he caught a sinus infection and from there on it seemed like he couldn’t get well. The next month he caught the flu and couldn’t seem to recover. He had continued congestion and breathing problems and was put on numerous medications and breathing treatments. I was so tired, exhausted and full of worry. I was still dealing with my own rash and my sweet baby just couldn’t catch a break. Then in January, after catching the flu, he caught RSV and was put in the hospital, and that was when it all came crashing down for me.

Have you felt like that? Have you ever felt the weight of the stuff in your life piling up on you? Like life just doesn’t give you time to stop and breath. I did; I felt like a woman at the end of her rope. I had not been in a constant place of solitude with Jesus. I had been allowing my circumstances and busyness of my life to keep me from my intentional prayer life with Jesus. 

 This is what the Lord showed me early one morning in the hospital and what I’ve been learning from this season of my life about how to get to a place of solitude.

1. Be still – Be still enough where you can hear the Lord  

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth. 

2. Repent – come back into agreement with what he says about your situation and for not allowing him to speak the answer.

3. Rest – Live in peace and trust God for your circumstance.

Isaiah 30:15 This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will get our help from Egypt. They will give us swift horses for riding into battle.’ But the only swiftness you are going to see is the swiftness of your enemies chasing you!

Even after my son’s hospitalization, he continued to get sick for two more months afterward. You know, sometimes our circumstances don’t change, but God can teach us how to walk through the storms with him and be deeply connected in him. So, I hope friends that you will choose Jesus and allow him to save you through whatever you face. I know he is for you, like he is for me, and may you be encouraged to find your place of solitude with the Lord. 

We would like to thank Brenda Martinez for writing this post

What do you think when you hear the word “solitude”?  I see a vision of myself sitting by a pond with a fishing pole.  And I truly am alone, because there aren’t any fish in the picture.  How about you?  Do you picture a desert island?  A cabin in the woods?  Chances are, no matter what you picture, you envision yourself alone.  

            Solitude can be defined as the state of being alone or withdrawn from society; a lonely life; or loneliness. Sometimes we use solitude in unhealthy ways.  One of these is being alone with our own thoughts. Solitude is not just for being alone when you are in a season of hurt or depression.  When I was a teenage girl, I spent a lot of time in solitude.  I would put on my James Taylor record – “You’ve Got a Friend,” or Carly Simon – “You’re so Vain.” Or whatever my emotions called for at the time.  I was truly in touch with my feelings and my emotions, I thought.  I was lonely, and there was a void in my heart that I needed to fill, but I didn’t know how.  Have you ever felt that void?

Oftentimes when we are alone, we are accompanied by our own thoughts.  Sometimes it is easy for me to fall into over-thinking every conversation, every interaction that I have had during the day.  I wonder if I said anything offensive to anyone if I am doing everything I can at work or with my grandkids.  I wonder … and I worry.  That type of overthinking and self-searching is NOT productive!  It can lead to depression.  That is not what God is looking for in solitude for you and me.

Another misappropriation of solitude is when we keep listening to scripts from the past.  When you are alone, do you hear the voice of a parent, teacher, or other person from your past berating you for something or giving you the “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” from your day or your current situation?  Some people mistake this script for the voice of God, but that’s also not how He operates in your time with Him.  

Closely related to these old voices is the voice of the accuser tempting, trying to keep a person overburdened and pushed down.  Scripture has evidence of people who were alone listening to the voice of the enemy and falling for his tricks.  Eve listening to the voice of the serpent.  David listening to his lust when he saw Bathsheba.  Judas listening to the enemy and turning Jesus over to the Jews.  How can we defeat this liar and expose him?  To fight the devil when we are alone, we need to study the Word and learn how it applies to our lives.

(If you’re hearing ANYTHING in your alone time that is contrary to the Word, it is NOT His voice!)

God has specific purposes for us in calling us to a time of solitude with Him.  The first is rest:  Jesus said in Mark 6:31-32 – “Come with me privately to a solitary place and let us rest for a while.”  Solitude brings us to a place alone WITH JESUS.  It is a restful, peaceful place.  

Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. 

We lead hectic lives today!  Do you ever get to the place where everything seems like one more chore?  Even the things that you love?  I do.  Jesus knows all about these feelings.  We need rest, and the way to find that is in a time of solitude with Jesus.  Remember Him saying, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…  Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Matthew 11:28-29?

Another benefit of solitude is strength.  When we have been through a rough season, or a bad day, our strength is sapped.  We feel spiritually, mentally, and physically weakened.  Isaiah 30:15 says, “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved.  In quietness and confidence is your strength.  But you would have none of it.’”  Does He think that of you and me?  In times when we feel weak, we’ve given all we can give and we feel spent, we can be restored IF we will wait in solitude, in quiet with Him.  

What was Jesus doing during these times of solitude?  He wasn’t being all introspective or wondering how everyone felt about Him.  He SURE wasn’t listening to the voice of the accuser.  He was basking in the presence of His Father, enjoying fellowship with the Holy Spirit, and regaining physical and spiritual strength.  Jesus did what he did by power and presence of the Holy Spirit in His life.  He loved all His family and friends, but He gained strength from His alone time with His Father.

What are some things that get in the way of us having productive, restorative solitude?

Finding time alone. When Kelly and I were first married, we had a friend who lived in our same apartment complex.  He was a single guy, and every night when I got home from work, he was there!  He would stay for supper, and he would stay and stay until Kelly finally said we needed to have some time by ourselves.  We were newlyweds!  We were very protective of our alone time!  What is crowding in on your alone-time with Him?  Sometimes you have to get assertive and just enforce your time in the Father’s presence.  

Feeling comfortable alone:  I will admit that it is hard for me to be in a quiet house.  I usually want to have the TV or music on always.  I seem to favor distraction and escape.  Early in the morning, though, I love the quiet.  If total silence troubles you, try instrumental “soaking” music.  It fills the silence, but it doesn’t interfere with the voice of God speaking.  

Expectation:  In I Kings 19, Elijah was feeling down.  He needed the presence of the Lord.  He was looking for something BIG!  God told him to stand by the mouth of the cave.  The Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. “And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”  I Kings 19:11-12   

When you meet with Jesus, what are you expecting?  Some days will be full of goosebumps and feelings.  Other days will be a quiet, peaceful assurance that you are His.  I challenge you this week to find some time to have solitude with Jesus each day.  See what a difference it makes for you!

We would like to thank Sheri Warren for writing this post

When you hear the word solitude what does that mean to you? According to the Oxford dictionary it means the state or situation of being alone. It could also mean being lonely or in an uninhabited place. Biblically, solitude is the state of being alone and is often considered one of the traditional spiritual disciplines. How do you define your solitude? Your answer to that question may depend on the voices you are allowing yourself to listen to. Those voices could include the world, your own mind or God.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself in all three of those situations. Depending on which voice I’m listening to at the time will define my solitude. It’s basically the battle between being alone and being lonely. There’s a difference. Being alone is where you are physically by yourself. Being lonely is an emotional state where you are feeling alone or disconnected from others even when they are right next to you. Solitude, done rightly, can be energizing, insightful and empowering.

Jesus found great importance in solitude. His solitude was being alone. We find in Mark 1:35 where Jesus got up early in the morning and went to a solitary place to pray. He could have prayed anywhere. However, He made solitude a priority. It was a time where He could be in a quiet environment and the only voice He was hearing was that of the Father. Luke 6:12-13 describes when Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray and spent the evening praying to God. In this instance, Jesus was looking for perspective. He was looking for guidance on which of His disciples He should designate as apostles. These men would be the ones responsible for sharing the gospel after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Such an important and critical decision to make.

Look at your five closest friends. Those five friends will be the ones who have the greatest influence in your life. Who are they? How are they influencing you? Jesus was choosing twelve, not five. It was crucial that He chose wisely. He went away, into solitude, for guidance on who was meant to be a part of His inner circle.

We see so many examples in the Bible of how Jesus made solitude a priority. If He did, shouldn’t we? Matthew 6:6 says, “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  The greatest rewards are given to people who seek and spend time alone with the Father. His rewards are long lasting, fulfilling and eternal. When we seek recognition and rewards from the world, we find those rewards fade with time and then we are searching for the next reward to fill us.

Our world is big. Despite its size, it’s easy to find ourselves in the state of loneliness. However, our God is even bigger, and He is calling us into solitude with Him. Whatever your trials, tribulations, daily decisions or mountains are, God is waiting to meet with you. He is ready to guide, inspire, comfort, protect and give you peace. Most of all, He wants a deep, loving and personal relationship with you that is best built during times of being alone with Him.

When we allow the busyness of life to take over, we are giving the world permission to beat on us and bring us down. It makes us feel weak and defeated. Through slowing down and finding solitude, God brings us strength, help and empowerment. Psalm 121:1-2 reminds us that our help comes from the Lord. Nehemiah 8:10 tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength. Where is your strength and help coming from? In solitude you will find all these benefits and so much more. 

We would like to thank Kathy Jones for writing this post