I wanted to share with you a revelation that God showed me about being a leader, and feeling that loneliness in the ministry. But this apply's to just about anyone who feels that solitude in their hearts.
THE SACRED PLACE OF LONELINESS
Deep inside every human being there is a big empty vacuum that craves for connectedness. In other words, all humans have a need to feel a connection with something outside of themselves - something that fills the deepest part of their souls. Without this, they experience deep loneliness, or in other words - disconnection.
I see it as a spiritual place. I believe that this 'place' is sacred because it is reserved for God and God alone. He is the only one who can satisfy the deepest part of our soul. Only God can give us the connectedness that we all crave. It is in this sacred place of loneliness where God fellowships with us and develops an intimate spiritual relationship with us. Then the pain of loneliness becomes the joy of solitude.
Scripture says, "... the Lord has SET APART the godly for himself." Ps. 4:3
That verse reminds me of another quote I once read:
“Lord, make me little and unknown, prized for thee and thee alone.”
I believe that when we know that God prizes us for himself, we will no longer crave for anything else to fill the vacuum. We won't even care if we are unimportant and unknown to people around us. When we experience connection with God, our soul is filled with peace and contentment - even while we experience the pain of loneliness and separation from human community.
IT’S
It is during times of deepest loneliness that God often gives his loved ones a sense of destiny. In fact, he himself leads them into solitary experiences in order to prepare them to hear his voice.
L. Ravenhill has said, "Great eagles fly alone, great lions hunt alone, great souls walk alone with God."
Think of Joseph who was left abandoned in prison - forgotten. No one knew that he was there on false charges. No one cared. But through that lonely experience God was shaping him for an important duty.
There were many others in the Bible who knew the pain of loneliness; for example, Job, Moses, the prophets, and Paul. Effective leaders, receive their calling when alone with God. They continued to walk in that lonely calling, enduring many times of painful isolation from family, peers, and church members. They endured being misunderstood, criticized, ostracized with no opportunity to defend themselves.
It was in that place of loneliness where they received God's direction, encouragement, hope and empowerment. During their times of loneliness, God forged within their souls a crystal-clear conviction of their destiny. That assurance gave them the bold faith to venture where no human would dare go. The results of their work have been astounding and will last throughout all eternity.
JESUS EXPERIENCED LONELINESS
Jesus was well acquainted with the pain of loneliness, especially during his Gesthemane experience. Imagine the agonizing longing of his heart when he begged his disciples to join him to pray. He must have felt extremely abandoned when they failed to remain by his side. Jesus had a very lonely calling, but he remained loyal to it.
In spite of the pain of abandonment, Jesus treasured the sacred place of loneliness. He said, "Yet I am not alone, the Father is with me." John 16:32. He was well acquainted with the presence of the Father - especially during the turbulent times of his life.
Jesus carefully preserved the
KING DAVID EXPERIENCED LONELINESS
King David was well acquainted with feelings of loneliness and abandonment. He once said, "No one is concerned for me, I have no refuge; no one cares for my life." Ps. 142:4
During those difficult times, he sought refuge in God. He said, Ps. 142:5 "I cry to you, O Lord; I say , 'you are my refuge..'" …. David's spirit thrived best during his times of loneliness and isolation. It was in the pasture, the hills, the caves, and the wilderness where God's Spirit intertwined with his spirit.
However, at one point in his life he took an attractive woman to fill the void that was Bathsheba. That only brought grief to his soul. His failures taught him just how important it was to allow God to fill the
The account of David's failure and restoration gives us hope in God's faithfulness to draw his children back to himself - even when they slip away. None of us are any different in our struggle with temptation. Our lonely times are times of testing and we will often find other ways to fill it. Doing that we will fail to let God fill the empty place in our soul. However, like David, it is our failures that will help us see our need to let God fill the
DON’T ABANDON THE PLACE OF LONELINESS
We dread loneliness. We try to avoid it..
However, because they are never adequate, we will keep on searching for more ways to bring satisfaction. Sadly, by doing this we are selling ourselves short because we never discover the beauty of relationship with God.
We must not allow anyone to fill the void of this sacred place in our souls - not even the most important persons in our lives. King Saul is a good example of someone who failed to stay connected with God. As a result, he lost his ability to be an objective leader. He lost connection with God and became a failure. Think of the misery and painful loneliness he must have endured as a result - right up to the end of his life.
LONELINESS IS A PREREQUISITE FOR A GOOD LEADER
Leaders know the reality of loneliness, simply because they cannot follow the crowd. They must be able see ahead - what the people can't see. Because they must stand apart from the people to some extent in order to remain objective, they will always experience some degree of loneliness. This makes them prone to certain temptations.
When they don't accept their loneliness and seek God in prayer, they open themselves to the temptation to become relevant in the eyes of the people. They abandon the
Like King Saul, countless leaders have prostituted themselves to the opinions of people for such a long time that they can no longer discern the voice of God. They really do not understand HIS will. Nor are they able to lead the sheep in the right direction. In fact, they themselves are the lost sheep. Under them the sheep scatter, spiritually speaking. Together they wander in a barren wilderness. They fail to accomplish mighty works for God. This is why it is important to guard the
GUARDING THE SACRED PLACE
This hidden spiritual place within us must always remain sacred - guarded from intrusion - guarded FOR God and God alone. It is where one learns to separate out God's voice from all other incoming voices. It must be carefully protected by well-defined boundaries. If those boundaries are weak, other influences will invade and damage our relationship with God.
We protect this place by desiring God's will more than anything. We protect our oneness with God by being willing to stand alone with him rather than compromise with others. When we are alone with God, we can honestly express our deepest feelings, our complaints, our anger, and our fears to God. God is not afraid of our strong emotions. He understands us better than anyone. It is with him whom we should wrestle through and resolve our issues of life. The important thing is that no matter how strong our emotions are - like anger, grief, fear etc, we must not turn our back towards God.
There will definitely be times when God works through circumstances to draw us away from the crowd and towards him. Loneliness can be very agonizing. Yet somehow we must learn to accept them, and even treasure those times of solitude. We will be rewarded eventually if we recognize that God is calling us towards himself.
While it is true that we need relationship and accountability with others, that must never be at the expense of our separate identity and oneness with God. We must learn to reserve a spot in our hearts, separating it from the crowd in order that God alone can fill it. After all, on the Final Day we will stand alone before him.
ENDURING THE PAIN OF LONELINESS
During trials such as losses, sickness, burnout, discouragement, broken relationships, failures, rejections, etc., people often feel abandoned or misunderstood. Above all, they experience loneliness.
Elijah struggled with loneliness and depression. God did not criticize him. Instead God met him, speaking in a gentle whisper. Then God gave him food as well as an important job.
When we cry out to God in our loneliness, we too will experience his tender love. Regardless of our feelings, God will teach us to trust that he fully understands. That is really all we need.
THE BENEFITS OF THE LONELY PLACE
Throughout history, many gifted people have produced magnificent creative works in the midst of agonizing loneliness and rejection.
We still enjoy their art, literature, music, poetry, theology, sermons, and other forms of creativity. The inspiration for these works was birthed in the lonely place and therefore they were not a product of the trends of the day. That is what gives them a lasting quality which transcend time and culture.
EXAMPLES: King David wrote many Psalms, Jesus at the
In some special way, God can also use us in our loneliness. He can spring something beautiful from within us that profoundly touchdes others - in a way that counts throughout eternity. But most importantly, he will reward us with his marvelous presence, reminding us that we are indeed prized FOR GOD and God alone. Isn’t that what we really want?
We need to endured to the fullness of loneliness which his the penalty of greatness. In the midst of loneliness great things are birthed. Allow God to birth something in you.
I pray that this revelation was a blessing to you.
