It was on Valentine’s Day when I decided to go into seclusion once again.

I had made a commitment for 40 days, from sun up til sundown, I would isolate myself from all social interactions.

That means no texts, calls, no social media for 12 hours a day.

But why?

To focus my mental, creative, and spiritual energy. To hone in creatively and be more in tune with God.

Yes, I occasionally wanted to jump on Instagram or call a friend but I recognized that those things have been distracting me from diligent work habits while also interfering with a deeper connection with God.

So instead of occupying myself with social interactions I concentrated on my craft and devoted myself to prayer.

Now don’t get me wrong, I had days when I got lax with my prayer habit. There were moments, days even, when I didn’t feel like communicating with God.

But when I would off track the Holy Spirit convicted me to stay true to my devotion during this time of fasting.

For years I never looked at isolation as a necessity for Christian development. But as I grew deeper in my faith I realized that isolation, particularly in fasting, is necessary for preparation, grief, and rest.

Preparation for Purpose

“We make our plans but God has the last word” — Proverbs 16:1

God never helps you make a decision. Instead, He prepares you for the journey you are about to take.

Yes, at some point you will be faced with a major decision. At some point or you will have to pick a career, a forever home, and a spouse to spend the rest of your life with.

But, if you are too focused on making the decision instead of preparing for the outcomes then you will not be ready to accept His will nor have the ability to embrace His way.

Thus, when you are faced with transitions you need to isolate and consult God for 3 things: The assurance that you are doing His will, guidance for proper direction, and the perseverance to endure the hardships you will face on the journey He has called you on.

Before carrying out the will of God, Jesus fasted for 40 days. His 40-day fast in the wilderness was preparation for what he was about to endure throughout his ministry.

Assurance for Assignment

“Then Jesus returned to Galilee, and the power of the Holy Spirit was with Him.” — Luke 4:14

Many of us are going out on a limb instead of favor when it comes to carrying out the will of God.

We trust our gut instead of God and end up heading in the wrong direction because God did not endow us with his favor.

When you are preparing to take a big step you must make sure that the favor of God is on you so that you can be sure he is with you on your journey.

Yes, conviction and confirmation are real, but the enemy knows how to manipulate these things.

Therefore, you need to isolate so that you can identify the voice of God. You must get time away from the outside noise so you can get familiar with his confirmation so that you are certain you are carrying out his will and walking in his way.

Guidance For Proper Direction

Let’s not be so quick to overlook that the Holy Spirit led Jesus in the wilderness to be tested.

Many times we think that God will only lead us to the mountain tops forgetting that he also walks with us through the valleys.

God’s guidance isn’t always wanted. But, what I have realized is that what He allows and what He blocks is always for my good. So if something unfortunate happens it’s for my good and if something is taken away from me then it is for my good also.

Thus your happiness is not a prerequisite for God’s guidance but your obedience is.

what He allows and what He blocks is always for my good

Step away for a while and find isolation. Find that time to be alone with God and pray for obedience to his way not benevolence in his will because his plans for you are always good.

Perseverance for The Battle

It was imperative that the devil came to test Jesus during his fast so that he could persevere through challenging times. Many people would challenge Him as the son of God as well as the abilities he possessed. Thus, he would need to prepare himself for how he would respond.

One of the ways the devil tries to get you out of God’s will is by causing conflict in an effort to force you to mismanage difficulty by responding irrationally.

Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden because they mismanaged difficulty. Moses missed out on the promised land because he mismanaged difficulty.

The way you respond to hardships will determine how well you can handle God’s will for your lives. And if you are unable to respond in a rational and spirit-led manner then you miss out on what God has for you.

When you are surrounded by so many influences you can pick up responses that are not conducive to God’s will. Thus, it is essential that you isolate, pray, and even fast for Godly fortitude.

Pray for perseverance in your pursuit of purpose so that you won’t get out of line of his will and his way for your life.

Grieve to Heal

“John’s disciples came, carried away his body, and buried it; then they went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard the news about John, he left there in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself” Matthew 14:12–13 (GNT)

A lot of times we don’t take the appropriate time to grieve. We continue through our normal routines without ever taking time to sit with the hurt and pain of what has just occurred.

We avoid it by distracting ourselves or worse adopting harmful coping mechanisms to manage the pain.

And while conventional wisdom would tell you to talk to a friend or go see a therapist, that shouldn’t be where the buck stops in your healing process.

You need to take time to be alone. And not just with yourself but with God.

Why?

Because doing so prevents you from being influenced by outside voices coming from our friends, parents, and the devil himself.

In grief, you are the most vulnerable to irrational thoughts and behaviors. You begin to say things and treat people in ways that you otherwise would not have if that moment of grief had not come.

In these moments you can’t allow your emotions can get the best of you.

Thus, you need a minute to slow everything down. You need a minute to sit, be still, and gather what bit of peace you have left so you can move forward as God would have it.

Rest & Be Still

“So he said to them, ‘Let us go off by ourselves to a some place where we will be along and you can rest a while’ “ — Mark 6:31 (GNT)

Jesus knew the importance of rest. He knew that it restored the body, mind and soul.

Too often we are peer pressured into taking advantage of every waking opportunity because society has taught us that sleep is for the lazy, weak and the poor. We have been bullied into working long hours, juggling more than we can handle in an effort to manufacture a toxic multi-tasking character trait.

And as a result our pursuit for profit and prestige results in the vandalism of self-care all because we don’t value the importance of rest.

The purpose for which God has called you to can’t be fulfilled properly by a tired and weary soul.

Get to a quiet place. Find a way to be alone so you can rest.

To truly prepare the body, mind and soul for kingdom work, you must recover physically and spiritually by being still.

Set Boundaries

“No” is a complete sentence and you have to be ok with how the other person responds to that sentence.

You have to take care of yourself in order to be better for the people around you. Therefore you have to set boundaries.

“No” is difficult to say if it may potentially hurt someone’s feelings. “No” is difficult to say when it means momentarily distancing yourself from the people you love.

However “No” is necessary because our peace of mind is non-negotiable and you need to protect it at all costs.

Communicate

Though it may be easy to simply disappear it’s not healthy for those around you.

Yes, set boundaries but communicate those boundaries to those who need to know them.

Because when necessary communication doesn’t take place unnecessary problems occur.

And while they don’t need to know what you are doing in your, where you are going or why you need to isolate, they need to know that you are going in isolation and for how long.

Make them understand that you need to be a better version of yourself in order to be better for them.

Completely Disconnect

Whatever it is that you need to disconnect from do it and do it completely.

If it’s social media delete the app from your phone. If it’s TV then cancel your subscriptions. If it’s hanging out with people don’t leave the house.

Whatever you need to take a break from completely cut yourself off from it so that you can truly isolate.

If you try to distract yourself with small doses of what you are abstaining from then you won’t get the full benefit of that alone time with yourself or with God.

Those small injections may not seem like much but they are taking up opportunities to heal, rest, and rejuvenate.

Completely cut yourself off.

Pray

Ask God to give you whatever it is you are looking for during your isolation.

If rest, ask Him to give you rest. If peace, ask Him to give you peace. If you are going through a transition ask Him to prepare you.

Whatever you need from the Lord ask him and he will give it to you according to his will for your life (Matt 7:7–11)

It serves you no purpose to isolate yourself only to return the way you left. Yes, it is essential to recharge physically and mentally but it is even better to recharge spiritually.

God wants to prepare you for a task, heal you of something or someone that has caused you pain or give you rest from all your work.

Yet if you do not come to Him what he has for you may not be given.

Thanks for reading.