Lonely Places

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TRY SOFTER part 4

 

How do you experience rest & refreshment in the ever demanding, 

hard driving, fast pace, pressure filled Silicon Valley?

 

You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment,

joy and confidence in your everyday life with God.

  • Dallas Willard

 

LONELY PLACES

 

Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Luke 5:15-16

 

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

 

Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Mark 1:35-38

 

A NEW WAY TO CARRY LIFE:

 

Jesus had a HABIT of withdrawing to lonely places to PRAY.

 

What if POWERING through isn’t the most PRODUCTIVE thing you can do? 

 

  • Jesus didn’t heal every person.  
  • Jesus didn’t respond to every need.  
  • Jesus didn’t visit every town.  
  • Jesus disappointed people.
  • Jesus didn’t live up to others expectations.

 

“Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”

  • Dallas Willard

Why do we struggle with Silence & Solitude?

 

  • DISSONANCE in our Internal World.

 

  • DEMANDS of our External World.

 

How do we develop the life-giving practice of Silence & Solitude?

 

Perspective: 

 

  • It’s actually PRODUCTIVE, not a WASTE of time.

 

  • It’s a SKILL to be DEVELOPED.

 

Practice: 

 

  • Prioritize it in your CALENDAR.

 

  • Find a QUIET SPACE to be with God.

 

  • Disengage from ____________ & engage in ____________.

 

  • New SEASONS often require new RHYTHMS.

 

Diagnostic Questions:

 

Am I in a season or caught in a cycle?

What does God want to develop during this season?

Is the pace of life pushing out your peace?

Is whatever you’re pursuing worth the price of your peace?

Are the rhythms of your life numbing or nourishing?

What rhythms do you need to embrace or replace?

 

FURTHER RESOURCES:

 

To Hell with the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke

Rhythms of Renewal by Rebecca Lyons

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer