“Without solitude it is impossible to have a spiritual life.” -Henri Nouwen
“In solitude we give God our full awareness. In silence we withdraw ourselves from the noise and activity both outside and inside of us.” -Ruth Haley Barton
Practicing. I am practicing silence and solitude. This is not something that I have mastered. I am practicing silence and solitude in order to create space to be in the presence of God.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am a doer and I love to talk. I am always on the move. Growing up my family would say, “Just sit still!” They probably didn’t understand then, or now, just how hard that is for me. And in school I was often in trouble for talking when I wasn’t supposed to be.
My relationship with God has often looked the same. I was constantly doing things for Him instead of being with Him. I loved to talk to God. He wants us to come to Him and talk to Him. He tells us this in His Word. But when I came into His presence, there was just a lot of talking on my end.
Recently, the Lord spoke to me and said, “I want you to practice listening to Me.” Honestly, this sounded scary. I began to ask God why I run away from silence and solitude. He kindly revealed two things to me. One thing is that I am afraid of what He may say or ask me to do. The other is that I am believing the lie that He doesn’t really see me or care for me.
You see, I am a fitness teacher Gospel preacher! I absolutely love sharing with others about God’s great love for them and reminding them who they are in Christ. But the lie I was holding onto was that these truths were for them, not for me.
During a cool down in one of my classes, we practiced silence and solitude. I will never forget what happened next. God spoke to me so clearly on my yoga mat, and I felt like I was the only person in the room, and that His eyes were on me. It was like no one else was around. He was looking at me with joy and excitement, saying, “I love how I created you. You, my daughter, are full of joy, energy and passion. It excites me to watch you love Me and love my people. You bring me joy!”
I couldn’t stop smiling. It was an intimate moment with my Heavenly Father that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t create space to be still and silent. Now it is my get to. I get to sit in the presence of God.
I encourage you to create space today, even if it’s only 5 minutes, to sit in the presence of God. Find a quiet space, be still and let your Father love on you.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” -James 4:8a
In the comments below, share the fruits of silence and solitude. What has God taught you about Himself or yourself in moments of silence?
| Jenn Mair | I am married to my best friend Jeremy for 16 years and we have 4 beautiful children. I live in Greer, SC. I work as a group fitness instructor at our local YMCA but my passion is managing Whole Fitness. Whole Fitness is a non-profit fitness ministry in Greer, SC. We provide weekly fitness classes, using fitness as a tool to spread the Gospel.
In the fall, our team went to a local gym in Irabid, Jordan to teach drumsticks and kettlebell to the Jordian instructors. During this time, God really opened our eyes on how fitness IS a tool for the Gospel. In July, we are heading to the Dominican Republic to provide workshops focusing on our identity in Christ to a group home of girls that have been rescued from sex trafficking.
Want to know more about Whole Fitness? Check them out on Instagram (@wholefitsc) and Facebook (Whole Fitness)!
Thank you for reading along on the Revelation Wellness Blog this week! Check out our Podcast and listen to the newest Be Still & Be Loved episode from Revelation Wellness Founder, Alisa Keeton! Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and be filled with God’s truth!
Come workout with us in this #wednesdayworkout! For more workouts like this, visit RevWellTV!
SARA’S CARDIO – “HEBREWS 10:22”
This is a cardio class, set to move to the beat of the music, where anything goes. The goal: to get your heart rate up with your Spirit even higher. (ADVANCED) (HEBREWS 10:22; DRUMSTICKS)
8 Responses
Jennifer this is so good and I can relate to being a doer that is me . I haven’t always just sat in His presence well. I am in a season of that now of pulling back to sit with him and it scares me. So thank you for this post. I need to learn to be more than do which is easier. I also have been afraid of what he will ask me to so or what he will say to me
Thank you for sharing, Kelly! We pray that you fear of what God would say is driven away. Remember the truth of His goodness and love.
I did this yesterday, beginning by expressing to God how I feel like I’m a disappointment to him. As I sat there quietly, I actually heard him tell me that I only disappoint myself. He knows what I will think, say, or do before I think, say, or do. He knows the end from the beginning – He knows MY end from MY beginning. He knows the choice I will make before I even know I will have a choice to make and he is not disappointed in me. Every choice is an opportunity to draw closer to him, because when I make a choice that doesn’t disappoint me (based on HIS truth), it draws me closer to him. He told me to choose carefully – will my choice draw me closer to him or not?
Thank you for sharing, Kari! That question is so essential to decision making! We pray you continue to draw near to Him in silence and solitude.
I just discovered your website and I think this is such a fabulous, unique perspective on fitness. I love it! It’s revolutionary and brilliant. Thank you for sharing your faith through fitness!
Hello Rashell! We are SO GLAD you are here! Check out our new Warrior Challenge: https://69e9ef5477.nxcli.net/challenges/warrior/ ! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at gwenos@revelationwellness.org.
Much like you, I am a doer and a talker. I was always in trouble at school for talking too much. Growing up, I went to chUrch but didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. So spending time with him was somethIng I grew into.
As i have gotten Older, (46 now), I have grown to enjoy the quiet. God has BROUGHT me to a place in my life now where I have the time and space to get still and Quiet. Now, I find myself looking for opportunities to listen for his voice. Turning off the music and just listening.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. It is refreshing to know there are other ladies out there like me who have struggled with the quiet. And I absolutely lOve the “Be still and be loved” podcasts!
Thank you for sharing, Gretchen! We are so glad the Be Still & Be Loved podcasts bless you!