Day of Solitude

Monday I did something different. Something I have only talked about but had never done in my ministry. I took a day to spend with God. I packed a backpack with some things and headed up to the Hualapais. There God and I went on a 6 - 8 mile hike together. It was great!! It was different!! It didn't conform to my expectations at all!!

I figured that I would go up there and spend most of the time just talking to God. Though I spent quite a bit of time talking to God it definitely wasn't the whole entire time. In fact, I did a lot of thinking about things. One of the "revelations" I had has begun to change my perspective on my relationship with God. I realized that I fool myself into thinking that I can tune God in whenever I want him around and tune him out whenever I don't want him around. I caught myself doing this a number of times throughout the first part of my hike. When I realized this I began the process of changing the way I perceive God. I began to perceive Him the same way I would perceive a person I was hiking with. Even though I wasn't constantly speaking to him he was always present with me.

I thought I would go up there and get some clarity concerning my ministry. I had a personal agenda. I soon realized that God had a different agenda. Allowing God to set the agenda really allowed me to relax and allow him to direct my thinking. Instead of receiving clarity concerning my ministry at church I received clarity concerning my ministry to my family. I might write about this at another time.

I thought I would go up there and do a little Bible reading. Instead of just reading the Bible I allowed the Holy Spirit to teach me the truth of God's word. I don't know how to quite explain this but to say that understanding God's word never seemed so simple or so clear. I had time to discuss His word with him without worry of distraction. The funny thing was, a distraction occurred but it didn't interrupt what God was saying through his word. I will be writing more about his as I do SOAP studies on 1 Corinthians.

Overall, the time I spent with God on Monday was great. I allowed him to change my perspective, my agenda and the way I read scripture. I got away from the distractions of the phone, computer and people. I understand why Jesus would periodically draw away from people and spend time with God up on a mountain. I really encourage anyone reading this to do the same. I know I will be doing it again!