Isolation: Curse or Blessing?

Schools are closing, shops are shutting their doors, and many employees are experiencing reduced hours or being told to stay home until further notice. With our governments advising social distancing and isolation to prevent the further spread of this coronavirus, many people are not only feeling fearful for their financial stability, but frustrated and anxious about the thought of being stuck at home. Just the phrase “stuck at home” has a very negative connotation. But could this time of isolation actually prove to be a blessing?

What we know for certain is being felt across the world is an overwhelming lack of peace. The number one thing that has power to steal our peace is uncertainty of the future. But what promise did Jesus give us?

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

If Christ promised to leave His peace with us on this earth, why are so many of us not experiencing it?

Matthew 9:29 “… According to your faith let it be to you.”

Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

In order for us to experience His peace, we must believe in His Word. And if we don’t know what He has told us, how can we believe it?

The fast-paced society we live in may have certain advantages, but also has some very serious disadvantages. The cares of daily living can overwhelm our schedules to the point where, when we finally get home from work, school, errands, and extracurricular activities, our minds are completely burnt out. For many people this means barely having the energy to prepare and eat a nice dinner, before collapsing on the couch to absorb their entertainment of choice for a few hours before going to bed. This never-ending cycle easily eats up any time for the personal communion with God that is so critical for our well-being. In a parable Jesus told, He presented four types of ground, representing the human heart, upon which the seed of God’s Word is sown. The third type of ground is applicable to this situation:

Mark 4:7 “And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.”

Mark 4:18-19 “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

Busyness can truly be an enemy to the growth of our faith. And if our faith is being choked out, our peace will depart right along with it.

All throughout Scripture we are admonished to have “the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12, Gal. 2:16, Gal. 3:22, Rom. 3:21-22, Phil. 3:9), because Jesus is our example of what victorious faith looks like. He knew what was necessary to have a faith which could withstand any trial.

So how did Jesus feel about isolation?

Luke 5:16 “He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”

Luke 4:42 “Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them;”

Luke 6:12 “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

Matthew 14:22-23 “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.”

Jesus not only welcomed isolation, He sought it out. He knew that it was only in that alone time with His Father that His faith could be strengthened, and He could find the comfort and peace that only God can provide. He also did not fear being separated from those He loved, because He knew that He was never truly alone.

John 16:32 “Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.”

Today, as our governments are asking us to self-isolate, are we dreading it, or seeing it as a blessing? I encourage you to look at this time as a divine appointment between you and God; an opportunity to quiet your mind and spend time with your Heavenly Father. No matter how isolated you may feel, you are not alone. He is always with you. He has much that He wants to tell you, but it can be impossible to hear Him over the roar of everything happening in the world. Every day we are seeing hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and diseases ravaging our planet, and it can be hard to discern God’s voice through the chaos of it all. But I assure you, He is there.

1 Kings 19:11-12 “Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”

In being released from our hectic schedules, we have been granted a wonderful opportunity to hear what our Father wants to say to us. God has been longing to free us from the cares of this world that overwhelm our minds and keep us from quiet communion with Him. His hand is stretched out to each of us, entreating us to “come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31)

But what about paying our bills, and providing food for ourselves and our families? Once again, “according to our faith” shall it be to us, and God has given us wonderful promises that are ours to claim.