Called to Solitude


I’ve been studying the book of Acts for a while, but today my heart turned to 1 Kings 17 & 18. I’m not sure that I have grasped everything God has for me in those power-packed chapters, but I want to share with you one of the ways God spoke to my heart as He drew me to that place for such a time as this.

“ELIJAH THE Tishbite, of the temporary residents of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years but according to My word. And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Go from here and turn east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook.” 1 Kings 17:1-6 (AMP)

Lately my life has been crazy, busy, chaotic and scattered. There’s so much that calls for my attention and I long to spread myself as thin as necessary to minister to all I can. Yet I realize that I cannot pour from an empty vessel. I cannot give what I have not filled myself with first. And neither can you.

God called Elijah to a place of solitude where he was completely dependent upon the Lord to sustain him. God would send a raven to drop bread from heaven in his lap. That would be his food. That would fill him. That would sustain him.

But in order to recieve nourishment from the Living God, Elijah had to obey His call to solitude. A drought consumed the land, yet Elijah drank from the brook and feasted on bread from heaven. When the world around him was in desperate need, he was being fed by God.

There are people all around us who are hungry for heavenly help…desperate for a word of encouragement and for someone to speak truth, peace and hope into their lives. We long to meet them where they are and encourage them in this journey called life, but we’ve placed ourselves in a spiritual drought. We’re too busy to feed on God’s Word and allow Him to fill our thirsty souls. We’ve become dry vessels with nothing to offer.

Sometimes God calls us to a place of solitude, where He can feed us with bread from heaven. That is not only where we will be refreshed, but also where we have the opportunity to see God work in unimaginable ways. No cell phones, no computers, no one else…just GOD.

Today, make plans to escape to that place of solitude where God calls you to bask in His presence and be filled with the Living Water and Bread of Life. It may be an hour, a day, a weekend or a week – but steal away time alone with God. He calls us to that place…for our good and the good of those we long to pour our lives into.

Are you in a dry season? Do you hunger for a solitary place where you can meet with God and be fed by Him? What plans are you making to answer God’s call to solitude?

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4 Comments

  1. Excellent post, Stephanie. It is so true.

  2. Hi Robin,
    Thanks for popping in. I began thinking how He longs to be with us and desires that we long to be with Him. There's nothing like time in solitude with the Savior of our souls!

  3. I'm with you girl! God has been showing me Jacob and how alone he was with God before favor was released with Esau. Sometimes we just need to be alone with God to become raw and pure to His voice.

  4. Hi Michelle,
    Thanks for sharing how God is working in your life and how He has been using Jacob to minister to your heart. There are so many stories where God called people to a place of solitude before He worked in their lives and demonstrated His power and favor.

    We serve an awesome God!!

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