Spiritual Seclusion

"My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah." (Psalm 55:4-7 KJV)

"Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD." (Jeremiah 9: 1-3 KJV)

Everyone knows the feelings expressed here by these two great men of God. Both desired, at certain times in their lives, to "get away from it all," to seclude themselves from all and everything.

People do this when they "vacation." They desire to "get away" from the "hustle and bustle" of their hectic and fast-paced lives, to relax and "take it easy," to be free, at least for a little while, from much of life's drudgery and responsibilities.

People also attempt to take spiritual vacations, of various kinds, and seek places of mental refuge and protection from life's many emotional perils and heart woes. People seek those places in their hearts and minds where they can mentally "go" and feel safe and free.

Sometimes too the body of Jesus' disciples have had to physically "hide out" from their persecutors, actually going into deserted places, into the material wilderness. These desolate and waste places, these caves and dens of the earth, have often been places of refuge from persecution.

It is not always right and proper, however, for the disciple of Jesus to seclude himself, either mentally, or physically; sometimes it is, however, right and proper. Wisdom is needed to know when one is good and when one is not. Sometimes the Lord wants us to "stay put" and fight, and not hide away or be as hermits.

But, thank God for those refuges that are provided for the disciple of Jesus! Thank the Lord that he is able to "seclude" and to "hide" him from many perils, both mental and physical!

"I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert." (Psalm 102: 6 KJV)

It is somewhat amazing that the same Psalmist who had earlier prayed for a place in the wilderness and in the desert, yet now cries out, in that very place, from a sense of loneliness and of non-usefulness! We must beware of seeking this secret place! It may not always be as we imagined! It is an ill feeling indeed to be forgotten! To have been neglected! Overlooked! Not esteemed or taken notice of at all!

"And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed." (Luke 5: 16 KJV)

If we feel we must "withdraw" ourselves from others, and go into the wilderness, either mentally or physically, it must not be without prayer. Jesus spoke of going into the "closet," a place where one is alone, without distraction, and without people, and where the disciple remains for awhile.

"Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews; but went thence unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim, and there continued with his disciples." (John 11: 54 KJV)

"And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship privately." (Mark 6: 30-32 KJV)

What appropriate words are these for the disciple of Jesus who needs "time away" from the "front lines" of battle! For those who are suffering spiritual "burn out"! Oh thanks be to Jesus for his spiritual "R & R"! He says to the faithful disciple, in times when he feels as did David and Jeremiah, "come apart and rest awhile"! He says to them - "come and recuperate." He says - "Come and relax, cease from your work temporarily, and reinvigorate yourselves spiritually." Of course, the disciple is not to stay in such places of inactivity, for they are intended to be only temporary.

"And the child (John the Baptist) grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel." (Luke 1: 79 KJV)

Oh how many prophets of the Lord are yet still out there in the wilderness undiscovered? Oh how many gifts in the churches that are not noticed! John the Baptist was prepared for his ministry by his time spent in the wilderness. So too did Moses, who spent forty years on the backside of the desert before his public showing to Israel. So too did Paul, who after his miraculous conversion, spent three years in solitude in the desert of Arabia.

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God." (Isaiah 35: 1-3 KJV)

This no doubt will be literally fulfilled when the earth again is made a Garden of Eden and a Paradise by the appearing and presence of the reigning Lord Jesus Christ. But, it also is no doubt a picture of what can take place mentally, emotionally, and spiritually when the believer finds that rest and sabbath that is in Christ Jesus. When the working disciple has fully rested, and is strengthened in spirit again, he is ready to go back to work, to appear again in public.

"I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “LORD, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace." (Romans 11: 1-5 NKJV)

Elijah the prophet thought he was the only prophet or true worshipper remaining, but he did not know that Obadiah had hid an hundred prophets by fifty in a cave. (See I Ki 18:4) The "seven thousand men" that Paul mentions may be distinct from Obadiah's prophets of the caves. In either case, the number of the faithful in Israel were very few, in comparison with the apostates, and they were, therefore, hidden in caves, and in desert places, in the wilderness, in places of seclusion and safety.

"This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us." (Acts 7: 38 KJV)

"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days...And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." (Revelation 12: 5, 6, 14 KJV)

The Lord has ever been, and will yet be, wonderfully present with his people as they enter into the wilderness for refuge, whether those refuges be physical or mental or spiritual!

In the Book of Revelation, there are two leading women, both mothers, and both heads of religions, one true and one false, and both representing every person on earth. Every person, whether they acknowledge or realize it, are viewed by God as either a part of the woman call "Mystery Babylon, the mother of harlots and abominations," or a part of the "woman clothed with the sun and having the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head," the mother of the Christ child. (See Revelation chapters 12, 17 & 18)

Solomon said - "It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman." (Proverbs 21: 19 KJV)

How many spouses know this inner craving for seclusion! But, this verse can also be applied to other cases. Women, in scripture, are often put forth as symbols of systems of religous belief, or of religous groups. The Lord's bride or wife, she is the body of Jesus' disciples. The non-disciple, or the hypocrite or false Christian, is part of the whore.

If we are married to a whore, literally or spiritually, we ought to leave that woman, enter into the desert of seclusion, and there become a disciple of Christ, connected to the Lord's beloved espoused, and in that wilderness place seek the Lord's strengthening and guidance, till he call us forth to some other place or work.