Transforming Loneliness by Ruth Graham

Author:Ruth Graham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living;Loneliness—Religious aspects—Christianity;Spiritual life—Christianity;Spirituality—Christianity;Silence—Religious aspects—Christianity;Solitude—Religious aspects—Christianity;REL012120;REL012070;REL012100
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2021-08-03T00:00:00+00:00

Abandoning Ourselves to God through Solitude

In the epigraph for this chapter, I quoted Henri Nouwen. I particularly love his insight that in solitude “Christ remodels us in his own image.”4 Isn’t that a powerful motivation to be intentional about frequently dedicating time to “slip away” with God in solitude? We long to be more like Jesus and to be more deeply connected to Him. Now we know how. As we’ve seen, solitude can become a vital part of our lives, as it was for Jesus, during which we can cultivate a deeper intimacy with God. Let us cultivate solitude as Jesus did. Let us commit ourselves to frequently spending time alone with God. And when loneliness strikes, or major decisions loom ahead of us, or grief rolls over us, or we feel depleted and weary, or we thirst for a fresh taste of God’s power and glory, let us choose to devote ourselves to solitude. While alone with Him, may we praise and worship Him, confess our sins to Him, be vulnerable and honest with Him, seek and submit to His will, and invite Him to minister to us.

Henri Nouwen also wrote,

We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with Him and Him alone. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a single-minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature.5

May you, too, cultivate solitude.

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