A retreat alone in a cabin in the deep woods, isolated from the world…that's my idea of a safe place. Ever since I was a tiny child I have felt that people were a source of pain and solitude was safety. I would wander off into the deep timber and feel such peace and calm. I still enjoy retreats for solitude and I find deep soul refreshment there.
However, there is another side to solitude that I have come to recognize both in myself and in others. There is the enemy tactic that comes straight from the pit of hell. It is a solitude that is designed to isolate me from the safety of the crowd so that I can be destroyed. It keeps me from influencing them and it keeps them from influencing me.
If a wolf wants to destroy a sheep he will run the edges of the flock hoping to draw one off to the side- alone. It is easier to kill it then. The flock- which is defenseless by nature- has no ability to attack or defend itself- provides protection just by encircling round each other.
In Scripture God refers to us as His sheep and He is our Shepherd. Psalm 100 vs 3 says “ Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” If we go off alone He draws us back to the fold. His plan is for us to enjoy community for our own good.
So we must periodically ask ourselves: am I spending a healthy amount of time alone? Am I feeling refreshed in God? Are people getting on my last nerve? Perhaps I need some alone time. But then what effect is alone time having on me? Is it calming, strengthening, revitalizing?
Or is it making me feel despair, sad, hopeless, despondent? There is no good thing down that path. Despair does not lead to any good place. Truthfully, there is incredible danger in too much solitude.
No flock is perfect. They are all full of stubborn, hard-headed sheep but then… if they can put up with me perhaps I can be patient with them.
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