The Power in Silence and SolitudeSample

CONNECTING WITH HIS SPIRIT

Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” Often, we find ourselves living far from these gifts, yet we have His indwelling Spirit. This can produce internal conflict. What about His invitation for peace and abundance as we trust His Sovereign plans?

How do we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit within”? John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” It’s impossible to commune with God when our mind is full of what to cook for dinner tonight or what we should have said in the meeting with our boss yesterday (our thoughts), and with wondering why we are angry with our spouse for not taking out the trash or our kids for not cleaning their room (emotions). We must take our thoughts and emotions captive to truly pursue silence and solitude to become aligned with the Holy Spirit.

Remember that the only thing that is real is this very moment. What happened 10 minutes, 10 hours, 10 days, and 10 years ago is only a memory. It does not exist anymore. Likewise, you may think you know what you’ll be doing in 10 minutes, 10 days, or 10 years from now, but that certainly is not real either. All can change in the blink of an eye. So, the past no longer exists, and the future does not yet exist, yet we spend most of our days living in the past or future. We waste a lot of our precious energy this way.

Galatians 5:25 encourages us to live and walk by the Spirit. God wants to meet us and live through us moment by moment. Since the past is gone and the future is yet to be… He meets us with His life-giving presence in the present moment. It can be tricky, but we must learn to operate in the present. Slow down your breathing. Spend five minutes just breathing deeply and evenly. It helps me to visualize breathing the Holy Spirit into my lungs. Feel it. Breathe in the fact that this moment is a miraculous gift from God. Your life is a miracle. Acknowledge the wonder that you are a living, breathing spirit in communion with your Creator God. You may find this difficult at first. Thoughts randomly intrude on this sacred, quiet time with God.

As you practice the power of “silence and solitude,” you’ll find it gets easier and deeper with time. Do you ever wonder how the great spiritual leaders of the faith, including Jesus, often spent hours in contemplative meditation and prayer? I suspect most started with a few minutes per day and grew their quiet time with God through years of practice. If you find yourself getting anxious or fearful - this is especially easy to do if you dwell on the news or social media - stop and return to the truth that you are living in a miracle. Stop and praise God for this very moment of life. Stop and breathe the Spirit back into your being.

Rom 8:16 says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” Let the Spirit bear witness. This may take practice. Connecting spirit to Spirit is the goal. Christ in us … His Spirit living in and through us ….IS our hope! Be intentional about living FROM and BY His Spirit within.

Sit in the quiet. Immerse yourself in the truth of your life and your assignment.