Quietness and Solitude

July 23, 2024

We live in a noisy, rushed world.  Doesn’t it seem like the pace of life is ever accelerating?  Doesn’t it seem like people are more busy and more rushed than ever before?  What is the cause of this?  Are technological advances the culprit?  Is it that many don’t cherish family time at home like they once did?  I don’t know the answer to these questions, but I ponder them often.

One thing I do know is that our souls have a great need for quietness and solitude.  Forgetting this fact can take a toll on us.  The constant drone of noise and distraction can negatively affect our family life and our spiritual lives.  But in our world today, many people feel guilty if they don’t pack every minute of the day with activities for themselves and their families.

Don’t get me wrong, being busy and working hard is indeed a good thing.  I certainly don’t want anyone to feel guilty for being busy.  Working hard to support your family is a right and godly thing to do.  Working hard to raise your children and to provide for their physical, mental, and social needs is a right and godly thing to do.  Working hard for the Lord, in whatever form that takes for you, is right and good.  The Lord wants us to be busy serving Him as we go about meeting our many day-to-day obligations.

But in the midst of all the busyness, we also need times of stillness.  Our Lord recognized His own need for this.  Throughout His ministry, Jesus would often go off to a secluded place to commune with His Father.  Jesus also recognized that His followers needed quietness and rest at times.  In the sixth chapter of Mark, Jesus began to send out the twelve in pairs to do His work.  They went out preaching, casting out demons, and anointing the sick with oil and healing them. (Mark 6:12-13) This would have been hard work!  And it was good work! When all of their hard work was done, “The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.  And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.’ (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)  They went away in the boat to a secluded place by themselves.” (Mark 6:30-32 NASB95) They didn’t even have time to eat!  I’m guessing that many of you can relate to that.  Jesus recognized His apostle’s need for seclusion and rest after their work was done.  What a joy to go away to a secluded place with Jesus!

Why not do the same?  Why not go away to a secluded place with Jesus?  In times of stillness with Him we can find rest and renewal for our souls.  It doesn’t have to be a complicated thing.  We don’t have to make a trek out into the wilderness to spend time alone with Him—although that would be great, too!  We can do it sitting on our front porch, or while having a cup of coffee in the morning.  I encourage you to take some time, on a regular basis, to go away to a secluded place with the Lord.  It will be good for your soul!

—Scott Colvin

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The Inner Life and Prayer

July 18, 2024

Do you ever feel like you’re running on empty?  I don’t mean in a physical sense but in a spiritual one.  And I don’t mean that you don’t love the Lord, or that you’re not being obedient to Him, or that you’re not thankful to Him.  No, I’m speaking of a spiritual dryness.  I’m speaking of a sense of going through the motions outwardly while feeling depleted and lacking passion for God inwardly.  I suppose it happens to all of us from time to time.  How can we regain a true, inner passion and feeling of nearness to God?

One mistake we can make in our spiritual lives is to place too much emphasis on the outer person, and not enough emphasis on our inner person.  We can be busy serving others, going to worship, attending church functions, reading our Bibles, and praying—all wonderful things—but if these are merely outward displays and are not driven by genuine spirituality, something is wrong.  We have become unbalanced.  Over time, the lack of a glowing inner life will manifest itself.  Eventually we will have nothing left to give if we are not allowing God to build up and renew our inner person.  Taken to an extreme, we can end up like the Pharisees who did all the right outward religious things but had hearts that were very far from God.

So, what can we do if we find that our inner being doesn’t seem to be glowing like it once was?  I’m reminded of the song we sing which says, “But when my soul needs manna from above, where could I go but to the Lord?”  Only God can give us manna from heaven to nourish and sustain our souls.  Only He can give inner renewal.  As Paul wrote, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16 NASB95) We need inner renewal every day.  The inner renewal we receive from God (which He gives through the Holy Spirit) will then overflow into our outer actions.  We will be able to serve, to worship, to give, and to obey with greater zeal and greater joy.  And we will be doing these things not by our own strength (which will leave us depleted), but by the strength that God supplies.

One powerful way in which we can receive God’s inner renewal is through prayer.  We need quiet time alone with God in prayer to recharge.  Jesus Himself needed this while He was on the earth, so how much more do you and I need it?  When our prayer life is lacking, our inner vitality will also be lacking.  But when we devote ourselves to prayer, God can renew and recharge us inwardly.  I encourage you this week, and always, to set aside time to commune with God in prayer.  It is one of the most important things we can do, for inner renewal comes in times of quietness and nearness to God.

—Scott Colvin

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The Secret of Contentment

July 9, 2024

Would you say that you are a content person?  I suppose most of us would say that being content is something we are always working on.  We live in a very discontented world.  We have a relative abundance of wealth and possessions, and yet many are continually dissatisfied.  The Lord blesses with much abundance and yet the temptation is to always want more.  For us in Christ Jesus, it shouldn’t be this way.  The Lord wants his children to be content, as Paul wrote, “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13 NASB95)

What can we learn about contentment from Paul’s inspired words?

First, note that contentment is something that must be learned.  It does not come naturally.  How do we learn contentment?  One way we learn it is to learn to reflect on our blessings.  We often focus on the negative aspects of life.  Focusing on the negative will cause us to grumble and complain and will blind us to the many amazing blessings God has given us. If we would learn to focus on His blessings, we will find much contentment.  Another way that we can learn contentment is through practice.  When we go through difficulties in life, we need to begin to see those moments as opportunities to learn. These are times in which God can teach us to be content in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.  This is something that Paul learned.  We need to do the same.

Secondly, note that Paul had to learn contentment in times of scarcity, but also in times of abundance; in times of going hungry, but also in times of being filled.  Isn’t it interesting that he had to learn contentment in times of abundance?  Sometimes we are the most discontented when everything is going well; when we have all we need, and more.  What do we learn from this strange phenomenon?  Abundance is not what satisfies!  We often think that we would finally be happy if we just had a little more than we have now.  If we just had a little more money, a better job, a better home, we would finally be content.  This simply isn’t true.  Contentment isn’t about how much we have or do not have.

Finally, note that there is a secret to contentment.  What is the secret that Paul discovered?  “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” This is the secret!  Contentment doesn’t come from experiencing ideal circumstances, nor does it come from our own self-sufficiency, nor our own strength.  Contentment only comes from Christ and the strength He supplies!  Jesus can give us the strength in our hearts to be content in whatever situation we may face.  But we must learn to rely on Him and to draw from the strength He abundantly supplies.  May God help us, in whatever we are facing, to learn to be content!

—Scott Colvin

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The Holy Spirit: Revealing the Mind of God

July 9, 2024

Who can know the depths of God’s mind?  Paul answers this question in 1 Corinthians chapter two.  “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?  Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11 NASB95) To understand who can know the thoughts of God we can first ask this question: Who can know your thoughts? The only one (other than God) who knows your thoughts is you!  Your own spirit which is in you knows your thoughts.  Who then knows the thoughts of God?  The Spirit of God is the only one who can know the thoughts of God.

Unless you reveal your thoughts, no one can know what you are thinking.  It is the same with God.  Thankfully, God has revealed His thoughts through His Spirit.  “…but just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.  For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NASB95) There is amazing wisdom available to us; wisdom that is so great, it never entered into the heart of man before; wisdom that comes from the depths of God’s mind!  This breathtaking wisdom has been revealed through the Holy Spirit who then revealed them to the apostles and prophets.  These things were then handed down to us through their writing.  God has revealed His thoughts!  We can begin to know His mind!  Isn’t that good news?

But we can only delve into the depths of God’s mind if He allows it. God has revealed His thoughts, but not everyone will be able to take them in.  Only a spiritual person can accept the things revealed by the Spirit.  As Paul continues, “But a natural man does not accept the things of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NASB95) A natural person cannot accept or understand the things of God.  Why?  Because they are spiritually discerned (appraised).  What is a “natural man?”  It is a person who is not walking by the Spirit.  Natural people cannot understand spiritual things!  Only those led by the Spirit can understand the things of the Spirit.  This is a very important truth that we must take to heart.  The depths of God can only be mined by those who are walking by the Spirit.  The Spirit of God gave us the word of God, and the Spirit helps us to understand and accept the word of God!  But the natural person will be cut off from God’s wisdom.

What amazing opportunities lie before us.  Let’s walk by the Spirit so that we can go ever deeper into the mind of God!

—Scott Colvin

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