Spiritual Discipline #1: SOLITUDE

Pastor’s Blog: Monday, Nov 10, 2008

I’ve been continuing to reflect on Luke 4. Not only did Jesus’s time in the wilderness prepare him for dealing with the temptations that were to come, it also prepared him for the ministry he was about to begin. We read that after the temptation, Jesus went to Nazareth and began to teach in the synagogue, quoting from the prophet Isaiah:

“God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the message of good news to the poor, sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the burdened and battered, to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”

Jesus then concluded by saying, “You’ve just heard Scripture make history. It came true just now in this place.” In other words, “I am the one of whom these words speak, and all that they describe has is now being fulfilled in and through me.” Jesus knew without a doubt that he was God’s promised Messiah. He was absolutely certain about what the Father had called Him to do. And we read that he went out healing, casting out demons, and teaching and preaching.

We all want to be used by God to impact our world. We want to make our lives count. We want to give ourselves to those things that God is most concerned about. But what does God want me to be doing? How does God want me to do those things? Jesus knew the answers to those questions because he had spent 40 days and nights in silence, solitude, prayer, and fasting. Because spiritual disciplines were such an important part of his life, he knew how to listen to God and was able to hear His voice.

“Dear Lord, there is so much that needs to be done in our world, and there are so many things that I would like to do. But I don’t always know what you want me to specifically do, and if I do, I’m not always sure about how you want be to go about it, or even when to begin. I need to so much to hear from you. So grant me grace to practice and develop those disciplines that will enable me to come to you with eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart that obediently follows on every path you lay before me. In Jesus name. Amen!”

Pastor’s Blog: Thursday, Oct 23, 2008

In the story of Christ’s temptation, Luke begins by saying that Jesus was “led by the Spirit” to go into the wilderness. God was directing him to go there. But why? Because that is where God wanted Jesus to be tempted? This is how I have been taught to understand the situation. As I read through the passage this morning, however, I had some doubts about that. It is important to note that the temptation, which was quite possibly a relatively short encounter, did not occur until after 40 days. Does it not seem more likely that God’s purpose for Jesus in the wilderness had to do with those 40 days rather than the brief encounter with Satan afterwards? God would have known that Satan was going to attack. He doesn’t keep us from temptation, but He is committed to helping us go through it. And this seems to be the issue here. God led Jesus into the wilderness so that Jesus could prepare himself for the great temptation that was going to come upon him, a temptation that could potentially eliminate him from the calling given by the Father. It was in the wilderness, that Jesus was able to spend time in solitude and silence, in prayer and fasting. And it was through these exercises that he was able to most clearly connect with the Father, hear His voice, and see truth and reality for what it was. And so, when Satan came with his deceptive half-truths and lies, Jesus was prepared to withstand.

I can’t help but ask myself, if all this was so necessary for Jesus, will I be able to live and stand against all the subtle, attractive lies and temptations that Satan is continually whispering to me. This does not mean that I necessarily have to live outside Drumheller on my own for 40 days, but am I regularly engaging in those exercises through which I am able to hear God speak – about myself and the things deep in my own soul, as well as His truth and perspective on things? Jesus stood firm because he did this, and did so throughout his life.

And the interesting thing, after 40 days of fasting, followed by the temptation, weakened physically, and drained emotionally and psychologically, we read “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit”. He was ready, and fit to engage in the things God had for him to do.