Called to Be Alone

There are many things of which people are fearful. For example, many are afraid of the dark, especially after watching a horror movie. Many are afraid of snakes... roller coasters... being broke... being sick. Certainly, there are other fears that many humans share, and most of them are "healthy" fears, in that they function to keep us healthy and out of danger.

Then, there are other fears that we have that are not so much based on keeping us safe from physical danger as they are born from a desire to avoid or escape emotional pain. Some people, for example, are afraid of public speaking, or afraid of being rejected... afraid of death and dying... afraid to be criticized, or even afraid to be overlooked or forgotten.

Among the deepest, unacknowledged fears that people have is the fear of being alone. Particularly, the thought of being isolated or being unable to share the weight of a burden (or even the joy of success or discovery) is awful. Indeed, as we go through our daily life sojourn, we sometimes find ourselves feeling alone. Even if we live with others, or take up residence a large metropolis of people, we can find ourselves on an isolated island. And yet, I contend, this is not necessarily a bad thing or something that needs to be fixed. Let me explain.

For those who study religious traditions, you will notice that God always calls for His servants to, at some point, and often with a certain degree of regularity, be alone with Him. What can we learn from this?

If you have lived for any appreciable length of time, you perhaps have discovered that, at some point, the allure of this world will fade, and the rewards of the world will diminish. The injustice wears on us, the inhumanity upsets us, the complacency irritates us. The pain and suffering saddens us. The prevalence of greed and corruption angers us, and even if it is not affecting us directly, we can no longer find comfort in or refuge from all this darkness. Being in the world becomes an increasingly heavy burden, and one will begin to look for purpose, meaning, and direction in order for life to be worth living.

To the ones who have reached this point in their lives, to the ones who are trying to live right and are looking for "divine intervention", we find the prophet Isaiah expressing an exhortation from God in Isaiah 51:

[1] ...look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.
[2] Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

Amid the niche that Abraham had carved out for himself in the world, God called him alone; to get out of his country, away from his kindred, and out of his father's house. He said, "Abraham, I have something to show you..." But, the question may have arisen within you... "Why alone?"

Let us consider a intimate moment between lovers. When they begin to feel that "lovin' feeling", one of the first things they do is to go off by themselves. In the privacy of seclusion, they feel free to reveal themselves to each other.

There is a certain modesty that intimacy calls for, and to be sure, an opportunity to meet God is an intimate moment. It is a moment when we lay our souls bare, a moment when we lay our cares aside, our fears aside, and ask for God to make His presence known. It is a moment when God shows us our is-ness and our ought-ness, and lays bare our undone-ness. It is a moment when God sees our mortality and frailty and extends a bit more of Himself to save us, to shape up, to uplift us, and to deliver us.

God calls us alone to work on us, often using the tool of trials and tribulations. Often, we are afraid, because while in the midst of trouble, no one seems to understand; and if they do, they can't help us. In such times, there is no one to blame; no one is "wrong." It is just an unpleasant caldron of heat and pressure that God puts us in, an uncomfortable place where bad habits are purged, where unconscious motives are brought to the fore, where weak spiritual gifts and traits are strengthened. In the throes of tribulation, we don't usually think that God is blessing us or bringing us closer to Him. In fact, we often think the opposite, that God has left us or abandoned us!

It is with the benefit of hindsight that most recognize that God was working on or in us. Only with the benefit of hindsight do we recognize that we came into a deeper knowledge of God, a knowledge that we can testify of, but a knowledge that can't be fully expressed. It is a knowledge that is unique between us and God. We all have been sick, all have been broke, all have been hurt (physically or emotionally)... And although we have similar experiences of pain and suffering, each one of our experiences with God has been unique!

For one coming into this realization, the internal conversation may go something like this: "In the midst of my struggle, God showed me more of Him. In that lonely walk through Gethsemane, God showed me just how much He loves me! He took me off by myself, created a wilderness in the middle of my life, and revealed His healing power... saving power... redeeming power to me! So, regardless of whether I was physically alone, or whether I just felt alone, God called me alone and blessed me and increased me with the knowledge of Him!"

We we come out of that spiritual seclusion, we realize, as Michael Jackson sang, "You are not alone..." We are energized to press on, not so much because the darkness has faded, but because we know that with God, all things are possible. We may not know what our calling is, other than living our best selves; but it is often enough to just let our Light so shine...

In this world, there is too much "group think", too much following without thought, and a pervasive lack of awareness. Many of us don't choose so much as we just go along to get along. People don't want to be judged or criticized... and rarely are people comfortable with just being or standing alone. Living in your light gives others courage to break free; this is the gift we bestow upon the world when we are strong and of good courage and go off to be alone with our God.

When we become conscious of this process, then we can go to God without always needing the prodding of trials and tribulations; we'll take time to meditate, and seek to help our fellowmen.

If you are feeling alone, feeling trapped by circumstances, feeling stuck in the miry clay, feeling anxious about an uncertain future, don't be afraid. As the LORD said to Isaiah, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness." And, when He finishes, we will be even more blessed and be even more of a blessing.