A Call to Isolation
In a time when churches are scrambling to set up live streams and attempting to create digital community, what if we also sent out a call to a self-imposed Patmos?
God’s ways are not our ways. He uses the obscure to challenge the well-known, the rejected to put to shame the accepted, and the small to overtake the large, to name a few.
We know this and yet we forget it as well.
Leonard Ravenhill put it this way, “More and more I see that so much of the work of the Lord is done in the flesh. It seems to be a forgotten art to be still and know that He is God.”
Be still. Know that He is God.
Previously we talked about the source of knowledge:
From where do knowledge and wisdom come? In books, lectures, life experiences, or the trusted counsel of one who holds a prestigious title? Perhaps in the words of those who have been there and done that, the pragmatists of our day? Maybe it is found in the collective voice of the crowd, crying out loud, declaring a thing to be good or true or right? And finally, could it be found within ourselves, the common decency of humanity?
No, sorry friends, it can come only from one source, God, and it begins to take root in ourselves only through one posture, fear.
Knowledge and wisdom begin here - in the fear of the Lord. The fear that would cause us to stop speaking, rather than to darken His counsel with empty words. The fear that would keep us from interpreting His actions on His behalf.
And I want to expand on that thought today. I see the temptation quite clearly and it is easy to justify. The people need leading and direction. They don’t know how to study or devote themselves to prayer and the word. We must piecemeal out each step of the way, lest they wander. It is our duty and it’s the best thing for them.
However, I write this letter today as a caution and to offer an alternative.
The caution: There must never be an invitation to my ministry, my program, my curriculum, my way of thinking BEFORE there is an introduction made to God Himself.
And as Scripture, church history, and our own experiences, teach us, introductions to God often lead to periods of isolation, rejection and obscurity.
We see this in church history:
John Bunyan, jailed and separated from his wife and four children for preaching the Gospel and refusing to conform to the Church of England.
John Knox, exiled from Scotland. I covered his story in a little more detail here.
William Duma, the African minister who hid himself away in a cave for 21 days, with no food, waiting for the Lord to confirm the call to ministry. At the end of those 21 days, the Holy Ghost came upon him and said, ‘I’ve called you to preach, and when you lay hands on the sick, the sick will recover.’ And every year, for more than 15 years in a row, he hid himself away with God for 21 days.
David Brainard, the American evangelist who died at age 29 from Tuberculosis. He was kicked out of Yale, rejected by the institutional church, yet found a home in the wilderness, preaching to the Native Americans.
Brainard’s story is worth expanding on briefly.
In 1745, David Brainerd traveled over 3, 000 miles on horseback to reach Indian tribes in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, Connecticut and New Jersey. He endured harsh weather, deprivation and personal suffering in his drive to press on to each new village with the good news. Contracting tuberculosis, he still pressed on.
It was a common sight to find this man of God calling out for God’s mercy to save the Indians. Weeping and praying, laying prostrate on the snow-covered forest floor for days at a time, fasting and praying, asking God to move upon the hears of those in the next village. Witnesses recounted on more than one occasion that the white ground covering of freshly fallen snow was stained by the bloody spittle coughed up from his tubercular lungs. -Taken from, ‘David Brainard: Man of Prayer, Man of Results’
We see the same in Scripture:
Abraham, “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.”
Joseph, “And they took him and threw him into a pit…And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison.”
Elijah, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.”
John the Baptist, “In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness.”
Jesus, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil…He departed again into a mountain Himself alone…and He went up into a mountain, and sat down there…So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.
Paul, “I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem.”
John on the Island of Patmos, “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
An Alternative: In a time when churches are scrambling to set up live streams and attempting to create digital community, what if we also sent out a call to a self-imposed Patmos? A time of isolation, where we shut out other voices and got alone with God.
“The greatest call and the greatest need today is for men and women who will impose upon themselves an isolation from all other voices…a self-imposed Patmos.” David Wilkerson, ‘Full Time Ministry’
Before we scramble to defend the importance of the gathering, remember, this isn’t a call to permanent disconnection. Isolation and gathering are not mutually exclusive. Rather, isolation always leads back to the people of God.
Joseph came out of the prison - and saved a nation from starvation
Elijah came out of the wilderness - and purified a nation from false prophets
Paul came back from the desert - and wrote a bulk of the New Testament
John Knox came back to Scotland - and his voice was worth 600 trumpets
William Duma came out of the cave - and brought glory to the Lord through signs, wonders and a powerful proclamation of the Gospel
Can I challenge us to use this time to be still, get alone with Him and grow in our knowledge that He is God?
Remember, He uses the obscure to challenge the well-known, the rejected to put to shame the accepted, and the small to overtake the large, to name a few.
Which one of these are you willing to be for His sake?
-Derek