A virus ravaged our world. Borders have closed, curfews were enacted, and our calendars became cleared for perhaps the first time in a long time. Life seems to be at a standstill, and we have no control over it. What do we do now?
What if God is calling us to greater intimacy with Him? What if He is giving us the opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones? What if our Heavenly Father is removing all our excuses and calling us to a place of solitude, seclusion, and intimacy?
The opportunity for rest, recovery, and intimacy with God has never been more attainable than it is today. Unfortunately, instead of using our extra time to decompress and recover, many of us are trying even harder to connect with people. We are spending more time on social media, participating in excessive video conferences, and subconsciously doing everything we can to avoid being alone.
The great twentieth-century artist Pablo Picasso said, “Nothing can be accomplished without solitude.”
Before COVID-19 our family focused on helping national partners establish churches where the Church has yet to exist. When the pandemic hit, Macedonia took a strong stand and shut everything down. Different age groups received different curfews. We entered a season of solitude and seclusion yet remained connected to the digital world.
We were on social media, had weekly Zoom meetings, talked with friends and family on Marco Polo, sorted through multiple emails, and followed local and global news reports. It was overwhelming. With the world’s needs on our screens, we experienced confusion and guilt as we dealt with something new—social media contagion and overstimulation.
We felt like we had to do something.
In his blog Leadership in the Middle, Dr. Jim Sabella makes this powerful statement: “When we are on video conference after video conference, sometimes with dozens of people on a single video call, we are subconsciously reading people’s faces. We sense their fear and anxiety, and we take that emotion on ourselves. Social contagion is impacting our mind, body, and spirit.”
On top of that, as a global community we are collectively suffering from what psychologists have labeled overstimulation. Our lives are full of stimuli fighting for our attention everywhere and at all times. We are feeding our minds more information than they can process.
During this time we have felt God whisper into our hearts, Trust Me. I have a plan for you in the midst of what seems like chaos. Do not worry, for I am with you. Take this opportunity to be still, focus on your family’s health, and draw closer to Me.
Words can’t explain how refreshing this has been for our souls. Even though everything seemed to be collapsing around us, we were content—maybe even happy. We couldn’t lead any program or do ministry how we were used to doing it. We could only leave the house for essentials. We could only love God and each other, intentionally looking for creative opportunities to do so.
We were content. God was using our family to minister, yet we weren’t busy. Ministry was happening, yet our calendar was empty. Humans are social beings; however, our bodies, minds, and souls need time to recover. We subconsciously crave silence, solitude, and time for reflection.
We found simple acts performed in solitude ministered to our minds and bodies the most, whether planting and tending our garden, reading favorite books that had collected dust on our shelves, ensuring our meals were tastier and more nutritious, playing board games, or drinking coffee on our porch. Simple things fed our innermost being in ways earlier busyness had never done. God had given us contentment.
Not long after that, guilt overwhelmed us once again. This time, it was less about doing something and more about our happiness and contentment. Why did we feel content when the world seemed to be falling apart? How could we be happy when everyone we knew was talking about how hard life was? Is there something wrong with us? Shouldn’t we be feeling bad?
That’s when God reminded us of the following Scriptures.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27, NIV).
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you…” (Isaiah 41:10, ESV).
God has reminded us of what He spoke to our hearts in the beginning. We had a tough choice to make. We cut our time on social media, allowed Marco Polo videos to go unanswered, limited our consumption of news reports, and only answered essential emails. We disconnected and found a place of solitude, seclusion, and intimacy with the Lord.
And wouldn’t you know it—ministry with our neighbors exploded! For years we could never get our neighbors to engage in any meaningful conversation about faith. They were always happy to talk about the weather, sports, or politics, but spiritual matters were off the table. Now our neighbors are coming to us asking why we chose to stay in Macedonia during a pandemic and how they find the contentment we have.
Amid chaos and confusion, God uses seclusion and solitude. Intentionally disconnecting from social media is essential. Turn off the television. Reschedule video conferences. Find a place of rest and solitude instead. Read a book. Plant a garden. Play a board game with your children. Spend time in prayer and reflection. Allow your body, mind, and soul to decompress and recover. Allow God to call you to greater intimacy with Him.
Tim and Elle Bentley and their son Bruin serve as missionaries in Macedonia.