How Jesus used solitude in His ministry

We have learned so far that there are many benefits to taking the time to be in solitude and reconnect with ourselves, with God, and with others. Well, Jesus used solitude. Let’s learn of His example.

All great people of faith took time to practice solitude. Enoch walks with God, Abraham was called to a life of solitude, Moses spent part of his life in solitude, Jesus recognized the power of solitude and became our example.

Have you ever wondered if Jesus also spent time in solitude, looking for peace, quiet, and refreshment? Do you know if there are verses in the Bible that prove that Jesus spent time alone to reconnect with His Father, with Himself, and others?

Let us take a look into Jesus’ practices regarding the time he spent in solitude:

Jesus used solitude to prepare for ministry.

In Matthew 41-11, Jesus fasts for 40 days in the wilderness in preparation for the inauguration of His ministry. We should seek solitude to intentionally prepare ourselves to plan our short- and long-term goals in life.

Jesus used solitude to grieve when He experienced lost.

In Matthew 14:13, Jesus receives the bad news of John the Baptist’s execution and withdrew himself to grieve. We should seek solitude to recover from inevitable losses and disappointment.

Jesus used solitude to hear from God.

In Matthew 17:1-9, Jesus seeks the silence of a lonely mountain and God speaks through the transfiguration. We should seek solitude in order to listen to God’s Spirit.

Jesus used solitude before a major challenge. In Matthew 26:36-40, Jesus wants to pray alone in the garden before He faces the cross. We should seek solitude, so we can find our quiet center and pray as a looming challenge approaches.

Jesus used solitude for renewal.

In Luke 5:16, we learn that Jesus often withdrew himself to lonely places to pray. He does this after draining seasons of His life. We should seek solitude for rest, rejuvenation, and renewal.

Could you imagine if this year, as we are still isolated because of the pandemic, we integrate solitude as a spiritual discipline? Could you imagine the transformation that we would experience? What will happen in our families if we begin to teach them how to practice solitude?

Solitude is the secret to reconnecting

I believe that solitude should be one of our most important resolutions this year because solitude is the secret to reconnecting with God, ourselves, and others. Solitude is the secret to reconnecting:

  • With God and hearing His voice.
  • With our heart and reflecting upon our spiritual condition.
  • And understanding our identity.
  • With ourselves and being cleansed of a worldly mindset.
  • And realigning our priorities and goals.
  • And having compassion toward others.

Could you imagine if the Department of Education added developing the discipline of solitude to its curriculum? We would have less identity issues with our students and young people, less self-esteem issues, and less suicides and depression because solitude is the secret to reconnecting with God, with themselves, and others.

The call of the Florida administration for 2021 is to reconnect. But this is the problem. We cannot reconnect with others unless we reconnect with God and with ourselves first. The reconnection we want begins with solitude. Solitude is the answer to reconnecting with others. It is time to talk about solitude as a lost discipline and bring a revival to our community.

This is what I want you to do this week

People are perishing in loneliness. It is time to transform loneliness into solitude and reconnect with God, with ourselves, and others.

Find a place

Think of a quiet, safe place where you can escape from the distraction and chaos of your life. A sacred space set apart to be with God where other voices cannot reach you, technology cannot distract, and intrusive sounds cannot interrupt.

Set a time

Make a sacred appointment. Put it on the calendar. Other responsibilities will easily push this appointment aside. Resist the call to attend to “higher priority” or “urgent” tasks.

Listen intentionally

At first, we may feel lonely, awkward, fearful, or out of control. If this practice is new to you, start small. Ten minutes is a good place to start. Experiment with what works for your everyday reality.

Solitude is the secret to reconnecting with God, yourself, and others. God bless you.

The benefits of solitude according the Science

In our last post, we talked about what solitude is, and now we will talk about the benefits of solitude. But, what does science say about solitude? Are there any scientists who have used solitude to improve their skills? Many great minds have used solitude, for example:

“I take time to go for a long walk on the beach so I can listen to what is going on inside my head. If my work is not going well, I lie down in the middle of a workday and gaze at the ceiling while I listen and visualize what goes on in my imagination.” Albert Einstein

“The mind is sharper and keener in seclusion and uninterrupted solitude. Originality thrives in seclusion, free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind. Be alone — that is the secret of invention: be alone, that is when ideas are born.” Nikola Tesla

Science talks about the benefits of solitude

In the scientific journal Nature, author Kerri Smith reviews brain research regarding the importance of solitude. In a resting “do nothing” state, the brain is not doing anything. It is completing the unconscious tasks of integrating and processing conscious experiences.

According to Ester Buchholz, a psychologist and psychoanalyst and the author of The Call of Solitude, solitude is an important  —  and normal  —  part of human existence. And it is also essential for our best creative work.

Solitude has been associated with building our identity. Individuals who practice solitude become more self-sufficient and less dependent on others. They learn to become intimate with themselves.

When practicing solitude, people avoid burnout because they rediscover their natural rhythms and align their lives accordingly. Solitude helps with problem-solving. It is widely recognized that it is often useful to get away from everything to think things through.

However, there is a catch to all of this: for solitude to be beneficial, certain preconditions must be met. Kenneth Rubin, a developmental psychologist at the University of Maryland, calls them the “ifs.” Solitude can be productive only: if it is voluntary if one can regulate one’s emotions “effectively,” if one can join a social group when desired, and if one can maintain positive relationships outside that group. When such conditions are not met, yes, solitude can be harmful.

The difference between solitude as rejuvenation and solitude as suffering is the quality of self-reflection one can generate while in it and the ability to return to social groups when one wants to.

Solitude without God is meaningless

I am not here to promote solitude as a psychological skill, but as a spiritual discipline because solitude without God is meaningless. Today’s psychologists avoid recognizing the role that solitude plays in developing the spiritual dimension of humanity.

Solitude was part of the Creator’s master plan to allow humanity to connect and worship Him. Solitude was the discipline introduced by God to allow human beings to know and to be known.

So, solitude is not a psychological theory or exercise. It is the journey of men to know their Creator. In St. Augustine’s famous statement, “Thou has made us for Thyself and the heart is restless until it finds rest in Thee.”

He was suggesting that at least part of the loneliness people experience in life is a result of the desire to connect with God. For these reasons, we believe that solitude is not just a form of loneliness, but a spiritual discipline to connect with the Living God.

The benefits of solitude in our life

This is why we seek solitude by ourselves, even when we do not know that it could benefit our relationship with God. We try to escape from all the daily noise, rush, crowded places, and places with a lot of pollution to find “peace and refreshment”.

Now, imagine what could happen if you dedicate that time to reconnecting with God. If you dedicate time to building a solid foundation for your relationship with Him. It would make a big difference, not only regarding your being, but the way you can feel God in your life. It could help you get closer to Him than you have ever been.

Solitude is a wonderful gift God has set aside for us, so we can reconnect with Him, ourselves, and others.

Do you save some time during your day to be in solitude? If you do, what would you say is the most important thing you have accomplished while in solitude? Share your answers with us in the comment section. God bless you.

Let´s know the power of solitude

One of the biggest complaints I hear from my patients, and also people in general, is being overscheduled, overcommitted, and overextended, especially during this pandemic, where we are working from home. Let’s know the power of solitude, especially in these cases.

It has not been easy to set limits at home and the typical response we are hearing is “I am too busy,” “crazy,” “I am working more from home than from the office,” often said with a mixed tone of desperation and pride.

To use the power of solitude is a lost art

Even when we have time off, we are insanely busy exercising, texting, working, or watching TV. And when there are a few minutes in between all these activities, what do we do? We are constantly checking our smartphones for voice mail, missed calls, email, and our social media. I have to confess that this has been my experience many times.

Sherry Turkle, professor of Social Studies of Science and Technology at M.I.T., has interviewed hundreds of people of all ages about their daily fixations on social media and new technologies like smartphones and tablets. In a recent interview with Scientific American, Turkle stated that she is worried that there is at least one hidden cost to our addiction to technology, the loss of solitude. Turkle says:

“I do some of my fieldwork at stop signs, at checkout lines at supermarkets. Give people even a second, and they are doing something with their phone. Every bit of research says people’s ability to be alone is disappearing.”

Study shows the power of solitude

Do you remember the last time you were alone for more than 15 minutes without any distraction or noise? Are people afraid of being alone? In 2014, Science Magazine published a study performed at the University of Virginia in which several participants — a quarter of them women and two-thirds of them men — were placed in a room for fifteen minutes by themselves, and they were told to just sit there with their thoughts and an electric shocker.

These participants had previously stated that they would pay money to avoid being shocked with electricity. Even though they did not want to get an electrical shock, it was found that most of the participants placed in this room shocked themselves with the electric shocker. They did that just by spending 15 minutes in solitude. They could not handle being alone.

Furthermore, they needed to do something to feel alive. And the only thing they had in their hand was an electrical shocker. So they preferred to shock themselves than to be alone with their thoughts. We are afraid of being alone.

People are afraid of being alone because they do not know the power of solicitude

Think about this. Ever since we were in preschool or starting elementary school, we were taught to get involved with others (which is good, there is nothing wrong with getting involved with others). But how many of us were taught how to practice solitude in our daily life? We do not know how to be alone in solitude.

Humans have long stigmatized solitude. It considers it an inconvenience, something to avoid, a punishment, a realm of loners. Today, I want to rediscover the lost art of solitude, and challenge you to begin practicing this discipline in your life because it is the secret to reconnecting with God, yourself, and others.

The power of solitude

We cannot confuse loneliness with solitude because these are two completely different experiences. So, the first thing I want to do is to clarify the difference between loneliness and solitude.

Loneliness is the feeling of being alone or the lack of social connection. It is a state of deep anguish. Loneliness is the feeling of having less affection and closeness than we would desire in intimate or relational areas.

Solitude is the state of being alone without experiencing loneliness (Gorsky). It is a positive and constructive state of engagement with oneself. Solitude is desirable, a state of being alone where you provide yourself with enough wonderful company.

Traditionally, throughout history, the practice of solitude has been associated with a spiritual discipline. However, in the mid-seventeenth century, there was a perceptible change. It reflects in the literature and poems of the day that indicates that solitude had become more inward-focused.

Solicitude and God

Individuals sought solitude to focus on the self rather than God. When the field of psychology began to take a more prominent place in our society, solitude used as a practice not to bring people closer to God, but themselves.

However, in the Bible, we can learn how great men of God found shelter, renewal, and a deeper connection to God after learning how to spend time in solitude, time alone with the Creator.

In solitude, we can find the place, time, and inspiration that allows us to get away from the day-to-day rush and allows us to reconnect with God.

Would you like to learn more about how solitude can help you reconnect with God? Do you know any Bible stories about people who had a close encounter with God in solitude? Share your answers with us in the comments section. God bless you.