Devotions from Stephen Smith’s book,  Soul Custody

“Solitude is a deliberate choice we make –like listening to the quiet and getting rested up-that enables us to be still before God.” We all need times of solitude or we lose our way.  Our soul requires nourishment that silence and solitude provide.  There is a rhythm of together time and alone time, even if you are a high extrovert.  Jesus took time from the crowd to go away alone with God. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that solitude is the same as loneliness. But we can be lonely even in a crowd if we think that no one really knows us or cares about us. In solitude we purposely distance ourselves from people temporarily, so we can be present with ourselves and God. There we can know a closeness with Him that would not be possible to experience in the busyness of our days with so many people around.  ALONE is made up of two words: all and one. We can become more one with God and ourselves when we embrace solitude with undivided hearts at peace. We will also find that our hearts begin to move from being lonely to being alone with Him.  So let us be still and quiet in our souls to gain back what we have lost