Solitude, Silence and Rest

“We need to be sure HE is pulling the load, bearing the burden—which we are all too ready to assume is up to us alone. We must understand that He is in charge of the outcome of our efforts, and that the outcome will be good, right. And all of this is encompassed in one biblical term, “Sabbath.”


Practicing solitude, silence and fasting are especially helpful in resting. It's practicing silence and solitude on retreat that not only provides a deep sense of rest while we are on retreat, but also then enables us to enter into that place of rest even in the midst of a very busy life back home.

Living with an attitude of total rest in God will not happen automatically. We must practice laying everything down and walking away from it. We have to practice not talking. We have to practice silencing the inner noise. I love that at The Springs retreat we have opportunity to learn how to leave behind all of our work and how to quiet all of the noise so that we can truly enter into God's rest.

The challenge is to not bring our work with us when we go on a spiritual retreat. It's tempting to think that we'll use the time to write an article or complete our Bible study. If we do this, true solitude and rest will not be found. We have to get away from our work to rest.

Take an afternoon to walk the trails. Take an hour to reflect on the beauty of a wildflower or listen to the birds. Take some time to just sit in a chair and look at the valley and be open to the Lord. Just be with Him. It can be quite a shock for those of us who are so busy doing ministry to come away in order to just be with the Lord. But once we've practiced solitude and silence, they become the most precious times for us...and truly, we can learn to bring the blessedness of that rest into our busy lives.

>