November 7, 2025 • 22 mins
This week on Joy in Every Step, we’re revisiting one of Sarita Bernadette’s most loved messages — a reflection on the peace and renewal found in solitude. In a world filled with noise, Jesus calls us to step away, be still, and rediscover the beauty of prayer in private.
Sarita explores the significance of solitude and healing through conversations. She discusses the importance of being present with oneself and with God, emphasizing the need for quiet reflection in a busy world. The dialogue highlights Jesus' example of seeking solitude for prayer and connection with the Father, illustrating how solitude can lead to peace, self-reflection, and rejuvenation. The conversation encourages listeners to embrace solitude as a way to find joy and clarity in their lives.
Takeaways:
- Conversations can lead to healing and closure.
- Solitude is often misunderstood in today's busy society.
- Being alone can be a choice for reflection and prayer.
- Surrendering anxiety allows for a deeper connection with God.
- Jesus exemplified the importance of solitude in his ministry.
- Solitude provides comfort and reassurance in God's presence.
- Time spent alone with God can activate creativity.
- Even short moments of solitude can be beneficial.
- Creating a dedicated space for solitude enhances the experience.
- Persistence in seeking solitude is key to spiritual growth.
Released initially as Episode 6 in 2023. Re-released in November 2025 with updated reflection and renewed encouragement.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Introduction (00:03):
Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine
encouragement. This is Joy inEvery Step with your host,
beloved preacher, retiredteacher, and faithful through
(00:31):
the valleys or dancing on themountaintops, Sarita's voice
will guide you back to hispromises step by step. So open
your heart, settle your spirit,and take the next step in faith
with joy in every step.
Sarita Bernadette (00:53):
Hi. I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome
back to another episode of Joyin Every Step. I'm glad you're
here. I'd like to begin byasking a question. Do we as a
society have something againstsolitude?
You know, we live in an age whenmuch of our time is spent with
(01:15):
others, whether it's in personor on social media. We're always
around someone else or doingsomething with someone else.
According to the Bureau of LaborStatistics, on average Americans
spend about 4.25 hours a daywith others. This includes time
(01:35):
spent with family, friends andco workers. It excludes however
time spent alone or inactivities like sleeping.
During that time alone, getthis, data suggests that people
ages 16 to 44 are spendinganywhere from one to three hours
(01:58):
on social media every day. Andthere is data to suggest people
are spending four point fivehours watching TV. Now I didn't
do all the math to put all thattogether. Feel free to explore
that on your own. But what I dotake away from those numbers is
(02:18):
the fact that we are spending agood bit of our days busy, busy,
engaged in one activity oranother.
So I ask again, do we as asociety have something against
solitude? Solitude. Solitude isofficially defined as the state
(02:39):
or situation of being alone.However, I believe solitude is
the choice to be alone and touse that time either for prayer,
for reflection, for studying orsimply enjoying one's own
(02:59):
company. Yes, that last part gotyou, didn't it?
Simply enjoying one's owncompany. I'm not addressing
loneliness here. Now let's beclear, I'll leave that for
another episode. An only child,I hated being alone. I remember
crying for a sibling for a longtime.
(03:22):
I spent a lot of years lamentingto my parents about not having a
sibling and obviously it didn'thappen. So I surrounded myself
with friends and family. Thenfinally, as a young adult,
somewhere right after college, Iasked God to help me learn to
(03:43):
enjoy time alone because Irealized I couldn't always be
with others. I had to learn tobe with me and I had to like it.
What I've discovered over theyears is that we are not alone.
We're never alone. God is alwayswith us. Psalm 4six 10 reads,
(04:06):
Still and know that I am God. Iwill be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout theworld.
That first part of that verse orthe A clause is what we quote
most often. The part that says,be still and know, be still, be
still it tells us be calm, quietyourself, being still here is an
(04:31):
act of surrender. The passiontranslation of that same verse
says to surrender your anxiety,be still and realize that I am
God. Surrender, surrender. I'mgoing to come back to that a
little later.
That verse in the passiontranslation goes on to say the
(04:51):
commander of all the armies iswith us. He's always with us.
And that verse ends with pausein his presence. Pause in his
presence. Pause in solitude.
Solitude is radical in today'sworld. It's a bold move. In a
(05:12):
world so busy and full ofactivity, there's even a phrase
for this thing that many of usare experiencing because we feel
that we have to be involved witheverything that's going on
around us, everything that comesour way, everything that comes
across our radar. You'veprobably heard this phrase
(05:32):
before, FOMO, fear of missingout. Yeah, it's a real thing.
And some of us are going throughthat. Some of us feel that thing
on a daily basis. But but someof us have heard the solution to
this phenomenon and we've begunto practice it. Jomo, the joy of
(05:53):
missing out. You literallyreplace the fear with joy.
It's it's a shift for us.Instead of fear, you experience
a sense of peace and oh yes,satisfaction when you choose to
sit out or bypass some thingsand spend time taking care of
(06:16):
your spirit and your soul.There's a word that shows up 74
times they say 74 differenttimes in the book of Psalms and
the book of Habakkuk. The wordis Selah, Selah. There's some
debate about the exact meaning.
However, there is generalagreement about its intended
(06:39):
meaning to pause, take a moment,contemplate and calmly think
about this. There have been manytimes in my life when I've had
to actively surrender. That iswillingly give up what I was
carrying, what I was burdenedwith, let it go and pause,
(07:02):
pause, take a beat and calmlysit in the presence of the Lord.
There are times when we are sovery overwhelmed by the
vicissitudes of life that weneed a Silah. We need one.
Our sense of his presence getscovered up and clouded by this
busy world so full of noise, socluttered with distractions.
(07:26):
When we pause, we actuallyuncover his presence. As we let
go of the things we've deemedurgent, we find that he is
indeed upholding us in hisrighteous right hand. When we
get still, we're reminded of thefact that he wants to commune
with us. The Father wants ourfellowship.
(07:49):
He doesn't need it, we need it.He actually wants it. He wants
to be near to us. Revelationtwenty one and three reads, I
heard a loud shout from thethrone saying, look, God's home
is now among his people. He willlive with them and they will be
(08:12):
his people.
God himself will be with them.Beloved God himself is with us.
In the pause, in His presence,we find peace, power,
reassurance, comfort, and yes,joy. I believe the best pauses
(08:34):
are experienced when we taketime away from all the things
going on in our lives and wechoose to spend time with God.
In the gospels, we see thatJesus was intentional about
getting away to be with thefather.
He set an example for us tofollow. When we look at his
example, we see him seeking theFather's presence in many
(08:57):
situations. Jesus knew spendingtime in the Father's presence
was necessary as He moved towardfilling His mission here on
earth. The Word of God recordssome of those times and I'd like
to share some of them with youbecause I believe you'll find
yourself somewhere in theseverses of scripture. In Mark one
(09:20):
verse 35, after a long day ofministering to all those who
were sick or possessed bydemons, the Bible says they
brought the whole city to thedoor of Jesus, my goodness and
he didn't turn them away.
He cured them and cast out manydemons. It tells us in the
(09:42):
morning while it was still verydark, he got up and went out to
a deserted place and there heprayed. He went to simply find
some rest. We too can find restwhen we seek him. 15, Luke five
rather verses fifteen andsixteen, the Bible tells us, but
(10:05):
now more than ever the wordabout Jesus spread abroad.
Many crowds were gathering tohear him and to be cured of
their diseases. Meanwhile, hewould slip away to deserted
places and pray. There it isagain. We see that Jesus needed
to get away from the crowds thatwere thronging him. So he sought
(10:28):
the presence of God and there hefound refuge in a deserted
place.
Jesus embraced solitude. He knewit was precious. In Luke six
verses 12 through 13 we read,Now during those days, he went
out to the mountain to pray andhe spent the night in prayer to
(10:51):
God. And when day came, hecalled his disciples and chose
12 of them whom he namedapostles. Jesus spends time on a
mountain with the Lord as he ispreparing to choose the 12 who
would walk with him during hisearthly ministry and as he
(11:11):
prepares for what has come to beknown as the Sermon on the
Mount.
That's huge. He understood thathe needed time to be with the
Lord as he embarked on hisimportant journey, this
important part of his life'swork here on earth. The lesson
(11:34):
is that we too must seek theFather when we're preparing for
the next part of our assignment.Jesus was keenly aware of what
was ahead and he still soughtthe presence of the Father. Seek
the presence of the Lordbeloved.
He holds the future. In Matthewfourteen thirteen Jesus hears
(11:58):
the news that John the Baptisthas been martyred and the
scripture says, Now when Jesusheard this, he withdrew from
there in a boat to a desertedplace by himself But when the
crowds heard it, they followedhim on foot from the towns. They
followed him, but Jesuswithdrew. He went off away from
(12:22):
the noise of the crowd to grievein the presence of the Lord.
Once again, he sought the Fatherfor comfort.
Even though those folk followedhim afterwards, he still got
away first to be with God. Soafter the disciples had been out
(12:44):
in the villages teaching andthey had buried the body of John
the Baptist right before thefeeding of the 5,000, Jesus
suggested that they go away alltogether, all of them together.
The scripture reads in Mark sixthirty and thirty two, the
apostles gathered around Jesusand told him all that they had
(13:06):
done and taught. He said tothem, come away to a deserted
place all by yourselves and resta while. For many were coming
and going and they had noleisure even to eat.
And they went away in the boatto a deserted place by
(13:26):
themselves. An apostle'sretreat. Sometimes we need to
get away and seek the Lord alongwith other like minded people.
Group solitude. Yes, groupsolitude sounds like an
oxymoron, doesn't it?
But it can be so rewarding as weseek to rest and to draw closer
(13:48):
to the Lord and to recognize hisvoice more clearly. It's during
these times that we are able tounplug and yet reconnect at the
same time. We're able to spendtime alone in fellowship with
God while also spending valuabletime in fellowship with other
(14:11):
believers who are also seeking acloser relationship with the
Lord. So back to that scripturein Mark six thirty and thirty
two, Jesus and the apostlesweren't alone, but they were
away in a deserted place, awayfrom the clamoring crowd being
(14:31):
restored and rejuvenated in thepresence of the Lord. Yes, group
solitude.
Mark six forty five and fortysix, immediately he made his
disciples get into the boat andgo on ahead to the other side to
Bethsaida while he dismissed thecrowd. After saying farewell to
(14:55):
them, he went up on the mountainto pray. Now this is just before
Peter walked to him on water.Jesus dismissed the crowd that
had gathered there to hear himand he went off alone again to
be with the Father forfellowship and for restoration.
(15:17):
Solitude.
After healing many and beforefeeding 4,000, we read of
another instance and this is inMatthew chapter 15 verse 29. It
says, After Jesus had left thatplace, he passed along the Sea
Of Galilee and he went up themountain where he sat down.
(15:43):
Jesus sat down. He sat there onthe mountain in solitude, no
doubt preparing for what was tocome. We don't know how long he
was there before the crowdsgathered and he performed yet
another miracle but Jesus knewhe needed a moment.
(16:05):
He needed a moment. Even Jesusneeded a moment alone. Let's
work on remembering to get withGod when we are heading into the
next thing, Whatever it is, taketime away from the noise to hear
what the Lord has to say aboutit. Before the crucifixion in
(16:28):
Mark chapter 14 verses 32through 35, we read, they went
to a place called Gethsemane andhe said to his disciples, sit
here while I pray. That piece ofscripture goes on to tell us
that Jesus took Peter, James andJohn with him and it says that
(16:48):
he, Jesus, was distressed andagitated.
Yes, Jesus, our Lord. And hesaid to them, my soul is deeply
grieved even to death. Remainhere and keep awake. Verse 35
says, And going a littlefurther, he threw himself on the
(17:10):
ground and prayed that if itwere possible, the hour might
pass from him. We can all take alesson as we read about this
time in the earthly life of ourSavior.
He was upset and he didn't tryto hide it. He came to God in a
solitary moment and he washonest. There was no pretense.
(17:35):
He was struggling with the taskahead and he let the father know
about it. He came to him and heasked for help.
What's huge here is that hecommitted to remain obedient no
matter what the response was.Solitude provides an opportunity
(17:57):
for us to take off our masks andto be real with the Lord. We can
bring our sorrows and our griefsto him and we can expect that he
is going to be full ofcompassion. It doesn't mean that
the cup of suffering will betaken away, but as we go through
whatever it is we're faced with,we know that God will be right
(18:23):
there with us. So let's drivethis point home beloved.
Solitude isn't just being alone.Solitude is about communion and
fellowship with God. Solitude isabout comfort and reassurance in
his presence. Solitude is aboutrest in him. Solitude is about
(18:47):
restoration and rejuvenation inHis presence.
Solitude has real value andbenefits. We can find self
reflection and healing therealone with the Lord. Alone in
his presence, we can gainclarity and understanding about
his plans for our lives andoften there in that solitary
(19:10):
place is where he activates ourcreativity and our productivity.
Yes, solitude. There's a quote Ifound a while back that speaks
to the value of solitude.
This is from Oswald Chambers,some of you know him, great
writer. He wrote, solitude withGod repairs the damage done by
(19:32):
the fret and noise and clamor ofthe world. It repairs it. Now,
I'm aware that for some of us,it may be hard to find time to
get away. But I believe even ashort amount of time carved out
intentionally to spend with Godis valuable.
(19:57):
It doesn't have to be two hours.Maybe it's thirty minutes, maybe
it's fifteen or ten. Don't letyour inability to commit to a
long block of time prevent youfrom spending part of your day
in the presence of the Lord. Andit may not look just like what
you want it to allow the Lord toshow you how you can do it. If
(20:21):
you pray about it, if you listenfor strategy, and you shuffle
some things around, the timewill show up, and it will be
worth it.
And you may have to givesomething up, You may have to
cut something less important outof your schedule, but it will be
worth it. There's much to begained. This kind of solitude is
(20:45):
necessary. Here are just a fewtips for your quiet time for for
for getting it done. Commit tomorning prayer.
Yep, set that alarm and don'thit snooze. Work on creating a
special spot in your home. Maybeit's on your porch or on your
your back deck. Use that space,dedicate that space for your
(21:05):
time alone in his presence. Workon copying memorizing
scriptures.
That's so beneficial. Listen toscripture as you commute to work
or you run errands. Take amoment to read a few verses out
of your scripture on your lunchbreak or whenever your break is.
Take time out. Just read just afew verses and I love this one.
(21:28):
Use your favorite study tools,highlighters, colored pencils,
markers, whatever floats yourboat in your study time, in your
time alone, in your time ofsolitude. Commit to reading
Scripture as a part of yourbedtime routine. And remember,
there should be and can be timeswhen you just do nothing, but
(21:52):
sit in His presence, just sitquietly. You might pray and then
just wait, wait for Him torespond. Just listen.
And lastly, don't give up. Keeptrying. If you fall out of your
routine, get back in there andkeep trying. If one thing
doesn't work, try somethingelse. Time spent alone in the
(22:18):
presence of God is bothnecessary and beneficial.
You've been listening to Joy inEvery Step. I'm Sarita
Bernadette and I'm grateful thatyou chose to spend some time
here with me. You can find Joyin Every Step wherever you
listen to your podcasts and dogive us a follow there. Also
(22:39):
check out our website atjoyineverystep.org.
Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine
encouragement. This is Joy inEvery Step with your host,
beloved preacher, retiredteacher, and faithful through
(00:31):
the valleys or dancing on themountaintops, Sarita's voice
will guide you back to hispromises step by step. So open
your heart, settle your spirit,and take the next step in faith
with joy in every step.
Sarita Bernadette (00:53):
Hi. I'm Sarita Bernadette, and welcome
back to another episode of Joyin Every Step. I'm glad you're
here. I'd like to begin byasking a question. Do we as a
society have something againstsolitude?
You know, we live in an age whenmuch of our time is spent with
(01:15):
others, whether it's in personor on social media. We're always
around someone else or doingsomething with someone else.
According to the Bureau of LaborStatistics, on average Americans
spend about 4.25 hours a daywith others. This includes time
(01:35):
spent with family, friends andco workers. It excludes however
time spent alone or inactivities like sleeping.
During that time alone, getthis, data suggests that people
ages 16 to 44 are spendinganywhere from one to three hours
(01:58):
on social media every day. Andthere is data to suggest people
are spending four point fivehours watching TV. Now I didn't
do all the math to put all thattogether. Feel free to explore
that on your own. But what I dotake away from those numbers is
(02:18):
the fact that we are spending agood bit of our days busy, busy,
engaged in one activity oranother.
So I ask again, do we as asociety have something against
solitude? Solitude. Solitude isofficially defined as the state
(02:39):
or situation of being alone.However, I believe solitude is
the choice to be alone and touse that time either for prayer,
for reflection, for studying orsimply enjoying one's own
(02:59):
company. Yes, that last part gotyou, didn't it?
Simply enjoying one's owncompany. I'm not addressing
loneliness here. Now let's beclear, I'll leave that for
another episode. An only child,I hated being alone. I remember
crying for a sibling for a longtime.
(03:22):
I spent a lot of years lamentingto my parents about not having a
sibling and obviously it didn'thappen. So I surrounded myself
with friends and family. Thenfinally, as a young adult,
somewhere right after college, Iasked God to help me learn to
(03:43):
enjoy time alone because Irealized I couldn't always be
with others. I had to learn tobe with me and I had to like it.
What I've discovered over theyears is that we are not alone.
We're never alone. God is alwayswith us. Psalm 4six 10 reads,
(04:06):
Still and know that I am God. Iwill be honored by every nation.
I will be honored throughout theworld.
That first part of that verse orthe A clause is what we quote
most often. The part that says,be still and know, be still, be
still it tells us be calm, quietyourself, being still here is an
(04:31):
act of surrender. The passiontranslation of that same verse
says to surrender your anxiety,be still and realize that I am
God. Surrender, surrender. I'mgoing to come back to that a
little later.
That verse in the passiontranslation goes on to say the
(04:51):
commander of all the armies iswith us. He's always with us.
And that verse ends with pausein his presence. Pause in his
presence. Pause in solitude.
Solitude is radical in today'sworld. It's a bold move. In a
(05:12):
world so busy and full ofactivity, there's even a phrase
for this thing that many of usare experiencing because we feel
that we have to be involved witheverything that's going on
around us, everything that comesour way, everything that comes
across our radar. You'veprobably heard this phrase
(05:32):
before, FOMO, fear of missingout. Yeah, it's a real thing.
And some of us are going throughthat. Some of us feel that thing
on a daily basis. But but someof us have heard the solution to
this phenomenon and we've begunto practice it. Jomo, the joy of
(05:53):
missing out. You literallyreplace the fear with joy.
It's it's a shift for us.Instead of fear, you experience
a sense of peace and oh yes,satisfaction when you choose to
sit out or bypass some thingsand spend time taking care of
(06:16):
your spirit and your soul.There's a word that shows up 74
times they say 74 differenttimes in the book of Psalms and
the book of Habakkuk. The wordis Selah, Selah. There's some
debate about the exact meaning.
However, there is generalagreement about its intended
(06:39):
meaning to pause, take a moment,contemplate and calmly think
about this. There have been manytimes in my life when I've had
to actively surrender. That iswillingly give up what I was
carrying, what I was burdenedwith, let it go and pause,
(07:02):
pause, take a beat and calmlysit in the presence of the Lord.
There are times when we are sovery overwhelmed by the
vicissitudes of life that weneed a Silah. We need one.
Our sense of his presence getscovered up and clouded by this
busy world so full of noise, socluttered with distractions.
(07:26):
When we pause, we actuallyuncover his presence. As we let
go of the things we've deemedurgent, we find that he is
indeed upholding us in hisrighteous right hand. When we
get still, we're reminded of thefact that he wants to commune
with us. The Father wants ourfellowship.
(07:49):
He doesn't need it, we need it.He actually wants it. He wants
to be near to us. Revelationtwenty one and three reads, I
heard a loud shout from thethrone saying, look, God's home
is now among his people. He willlive with them and they will be
(08:12):
his people.
God himself will be with them.Beloved God himself is with us.
In the pause, in His presence,we find peace, power,
reassurance, comfort, and yes,joy. I believe the best pauses
(08:34):
are experienced when we taketime away from all the things
going on in our lives and wechoose to spend time with God.
In the gospels, we see thatJesus was intentional about
getting away to be with thefather.
He set an example for us tofollow. When we look at his
example, we see him seeking theFather's presence in many
(08:57):
situations. Jesus knew spendingtime in the Father's presence
was necessary as He moved towardfilling His mission here on
earth. The Word of God recordssome of those times and I'd like
to share some of them with youbecause I believe you'll find
yourself somewhere in theseverses of scripture. In Mark one
(09:20):
verse 35, after a long day ofministering to all those who
were sick or possessed bydemons, the Bible says they
brought the whole city to thedoor of Jesus, my goodness and
he didn't turn them away.
He cured them and cast out manydemons. It tells us in the
(09:42):
morning while it was still verydark, he got up and went out to
a deserted place and there heprayed. He went to simply find
some rest. We too can find restwhen we seek him. 15, Luke five
rather verses fifteen andsixteen, the Bible tells us, but
(10:05):
now more than ever the wordabout Jesus spread abroad.
Many crowds were gathering tohear him and to be cured of
their diseases. Meanwhile, hewould slip away to deserted
places and pray. There it isagain. We see that Jesus needed
to get away from the crowds thatwere thronging him. So he sought
(10:28):
the presence of God and there hefound refuge in a deserted
place.
Jesus embraced solitude. He knewit was precious. In Luke six
verses 12 through 13 we read,Now during those days, he went
out to the mountain to pray andhe spent the night in prayer to
(10:51):
God. And when day came, hecalled his disciples and chose
12 of them whom he namedapostles. Jesus spends time on a
mountain with the Lord as he ispreparing to choose the 12 who
would walk with him during hisearthly ministry and as he
(11:11):
prepares for what has come to beknown as the Sermon on the
Mount.
That's huge. He understood thathe needed time to be with the
Lord as he embarked on hisimportant journey, this
important part of his life'swork here on earth. The lesson
(11:34):
is that we too must seek theFather when we're preparing for
the next part of our assignment.Jesus was keenly aware of what
was ahead and he still soughtthe presence of the Father. Seek
the presence of the Lordbeloved.
He holds the future. In Matthewfourteen thirteen Jesus hears
(11:58):
the news that John the Baptisthas been martyred and the
scripture says, Now when Jesusheard this, he withdrew from
there in a boat to a desertedplace by himself But when the
crowds heard it, they followedhim on foot from the towns. They
followed him, but Jesuswithdrew. He went off away from
(12:22):
the noise of the crowd to grievein the presence of the Lord.
Once again, he sought the Fatherfor comfort.
Even though those folk followedhim afterwards, he still got
away first to be with God. Soafter the disciples had been out
(12:44):
in the villages teaching andthey had buried the body of John
the Baptist right before thefeeding of the 5,000, Jesus
suggested that they go away alltogether, all of them together.
The scripture reads in Mark sixthirty and thirty two, the
apostles gathered around Jesusand told him all that they had
(13:06):
done and taught. He said tothem, come away to a deserted
place all by yourselves and resta while. For many were coming
and going and they had noleisure even to eat.
And they went away in the boatto a deserted place by
(13:26):
themselves. An apostle'sretreat. Sometimes we need to
get away and seek the Lord alongwith other like minded people.
Group solitude. Yes, groupsolitude sounds like an
oxymoron, doesn't it?
But it can be so rewarding as weseek to rest and to draw closer
(13:48):
to the Lord and to recognize hisvoice more clearly. It's during
these times that we are able tounplug and yet reconnect at the
same time. We're able to spendtime alone in fellowship with
God while also spending valuabletime in fellowship with other
(14:11):
believers who are also seeking acloser relationship with the
Lord. So back to that scripturein Mark six thirty and thirty
two, Jesus and the apostlesweren't alone, but they were
away in a deserted place, awayfrom the clamoring crowd being
(14:31):
restored and rejuvenated in thepresence of the Lord. Yes, group
solitude.
Mark six forty five and fortysix, immediately he made his
disciples get into the boat andgo on ahead to the other side to
Bethsaida while he dismissed thecrowd. After saying farewell to
(14:55):
them, he went up on the mountainto pray. Now this is just before
Peter walked to him on water.Jesus dismissed the crowd that
had gathered there to hear himand he went off alone again to
be with the Father forfellowship and for restoration.
(15:17):
Solitude.
After healing many and beforefeeding 4,000, we read of
another instance and this is inMatthew chapter 15 verse 29. It
says, After Jesus had left thatplace, he passed along the Sea
Of Galilee and he went up themountain where he sat down.
(15:43):
Jesus sat down. He sat there onthe mountain in solitude, no
doubt preparing for what was tocome. We don't know how long he
was there before the crowdsgathered and he performed yet
another miracle but Jesus knewhe needed a moment.
(16:05):
He needed a moment. Even Jesusneeded a moment alone. Let's
work on remembering to get withGod when we are heading into the
next thing, Whatever it is, taketime away from the noise to hear
what the Lord has to say aboutit. Before the crucifixion in
(16:28):
Mark chapter 14 verses 32through 35, we read, they went
to a place called Gethsemane andhe said to his disciples, sit
here while I pray. That piece ofscripture goes on to tell us
that Jesus took Peter, James andJohn with him and it says that
(16:48):
he, Jesus, was distressed andagitated.
Yes, Jesus, our Lord. And hesaid to them, my soul is deeply
grieved even to death. Remainhere and keep awake. Verse 35
says, And going a littlefurther, he threw himself on the
(17:10):
ground and prayed that if itwere possible, the hour might
pass from him. We can all take alesson as we read about this
time in the earthly life of ourSavior.
He was upset and he didn't tryto hide it. He came to God in a
solitary moment and he washonest. There was no pretense.
(17:35):
He was struggling with the taskahead and he let the father know
about it. He came to him and heasked for help.
What's huge here is that hecommitted to remain obedient no
matter what the response was.Solitude provides an opportunity
(17:57):
for us to take off our masks andto be real with the Lord. We can
bring our sorrows and our griefsto him and we can expect that he
is going to be full ofcompassion. It doesn't mean that
the cup of suffering will betaken away, but as we go through
whatever it is we're faced with,we know that God will be right
(18:23):
there with us. So let's drivethis point home beloved.
Solitude isn't just being alone.Solitude is about communion and
fellowship with God. Solitude isabout comfort and reassurance in
his presence. Solitude is aboutrest in him. Solitude is about
(18:47):
restoration and rejuvenation inHis presence.
Solitude has real value andbenefits. We can find self
reflection and healing therealone with the Lord. Alone in
his presence, we can gainclarity and understanding about
his plans for our lives andoften there in that solitary
(19:10):
place is where he activates ourcreativity and our productivity.
Yes, solitude. There's a quote Ifound a while back that speaks
to the value of solitude.
This is from Oswald Chambers,some of you know him, great
writer. He wrote, solitude withGod repairs the damage done by
(19:32):
the fret and noise and clamor ofthe world. It repairs it. Now,
I'm aware that for some of us,it may be hard to find time to
get away. But I believe even ashort amount of time carved out
intentionally to spend with Godis valuable.
(19:57):
It doesn't have to be two hours.Maybe it's thirty minutes, maybe
it's fifteen or ten. Don't letyour inability to commit to a
long block of time prevent youfrom spending part of your day
in the presence of the Lord. Andit may not look just like what
you want it to allow the Lord toshow you how you can do it. If
(20:21):
you pray about it, if you listenfor strategy, and you shuffle
some things around, the timewill show up, and it will be
worth it.
And you may have to givesomething up, You may have to
cut something less important outof your schedule, but it will be
worth it. There's much to begained. This kind of solitude is
(20:45):
necessary. Here are just a fewtips for your quiet time for for
for getting it done. Commit tomorning prayer.
Yep, set that alarm and don'thit snooze. Work on creating a
special spot in your home. Maybeit's on your porch or on your
your back deck. Use that space,dedicate that space for your
(21:05):
time alone in his presence. Workon copying memorizing
scriptures.
That's so beneficial. Listen toscripture as you commute to work
or you run errands. Take amoment to read a few verses out
of your scripture on your lunchbreak or whenever your break is.
Take time out. Just read just afew verses and I love this one.
(21:28):
Use your favorite study tools,highlighters, colored pencils,
markers, whatever floats yourboat in your study time, in your
time alone, in your time ofsolitude. Commit to reading
Scripture as a part of yourbedtime routine. And remember,
there should be and can be timeswhen you just do nothing, but
(21:52):
sit in His presence, just sitquietly. You might pray and then
just wait, wait for Him torespond. Just listen.
And lastly, don't give up. Keeptrying. If you fall out of your
routine, get back in there andkeep trying. If one thing
doesn't work, try somethingelse. Time spent alone in the
(22:18):
presence of God is bothnecessary and beneficial.
You've been listening to Joy inEvery Step. I'm Sarita
Bernadette and I'm grateful thatyou chose to spend some time
here with me. You can find Joyin Every Step wherever you
listen to your podcasts and dogive us a follow there. Also
(22:39):
check out our website atjoyineverystep.org.
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