Loneliness and Solitude

Luke tells us that Jesus intentionally went to a lonely place to pray (Luke 5:16). I don't like lonely places, yet Jesus sought them out. Why? I don't think He ever felt all alone...not until the Cross. He knew His Father was with Him so the lonely place wasn't lonely for Him--it was rich, deep, full, alive....it was solitude. The lonely place provided Him the opportunity to be free of distractions and the continual interruptions and noisiness of the crowds. There, alone in the desert, Jesus could commune with his Father. The lonely place offered Him the gift of solitude.

The lonely place offers us the possibility of adoration, getting lost in worship, enjoying friendship, intimacy, even union with Christ without interruption. It's when we are all alone that we can learn we are never actually alone. And that is a very important aspect of our spiritual formation.

Sometimes everything in our lives becomes dark. We feel all alone, maybe even abandoned, and fears immobilize  us. The Lord desires to replace our profound sense of loneliness with the rich knowledge that He is with us.

On vacation I have the opportunity to get up two hours before dawn and watch the sunrise. One morning dark clouds filled the sky, blocking my view of the first light of dawn. I sat in the darkness, no moon, no stars, no hint of dawn. Then the skies opened and I was in the middle of a huge tropical downpour. It poured down rain for at least ten minutes. But then, in just one tiny spot, the clouds opened,  revealing blue sky and the brilliance of sunrise beyond. I realized that in much the same way, we can be in the dark.We can think that we are all alone. The clouds of doubt and disappointment can block our view. But God is always there. Even when we cannot see beyond our intense loneliness, He is there. Always.

It seems that a significant aspect of our spiritual growth is learning to enjoy being all alone so that we learn we are never alone but always with the Lord. Receiving the gift of solitude is the beginning of the process of prayerfully allowing our lonely place to become a place of solitude, where the fear of being abandoned is replaced by the knowledge that Jesus is with us. We can pray and let our conversation with Jesus be so immediate, like friend speaking with friend, that we know we are not alone.

Grant, O Lord, that we learn to love the lonely place because it is there that we have the sweetest, unbroken communion with You.

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