Soul Care Part 2: Solitudeنموونە

How productive are you, really?

Imagine this…

A laborer digs a trench eight feet deep by hand. He’s so proud of himself. He’s never worked harder, and he dug that hole in record time! Just as he tosses his last scoop of dirt the foreman looks into the hole. With a scowl on his face the foreman says, “Why did you dig here and why is the hole so deep? You need to fill this hole in and dig again in the right place!” He continues, “If you had taken the time to talk to me and read the blueprints, you would have saved so much time and energy, and your efforts would have counted for something!”

That illustration makes one’s heart sink just thinking about it! What an awful feeling it would be to discover that all your busyness was just that, busyness! Solitude is taking time to communicate with the ultimate Foreman, and to internalize His blueprints. Solitude is listening and being filled before action. Solitude ensures that, when we do move, we are putting our energy into the right things, and with the right spirit. Solitude ensures that our expended energy is actually productive and actually counts toward what is valuable in God’s eyes.

Ask Yourself:

- When have you changed direction because you discovered, by time with God, that your busyness was not according to his blueprint?

- How are you ensuring that your busyness is actually fruitful?

- How are you ensuring that your definition of fruitful is God’s definition of fruitful?

Pause to Pray:

My Jesus, I so desperately want to bear much fruit! Teach me what it is to abide in you day by day…

Take the Next Step:

- Make a list of tasks that you plan to do this week or take a look at your calendar of meetings/classes/events. How many of them have you prayed about? Take time to pray, even for the small things that seem to not need prayer.