In the quiet solitude we find peace and the burdens of our hearts are lifted.

In the quiet solitude we find peace and the burdens of our hearts are lifted.

“He who dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High, shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my Refuge. My God in Whom I will trust.'” ~ Psalm 91:1-2

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.” (Psalm 62:5)

Lord, You are the Song in my night, the light in my darkness. You are the hope in my brokenness and my quiet in the chaos.

Teach me to seek after the quiet — to understand the treasures of solitude.

Solitude feels elusive, Lord, unattainable in this busy, noisy season of Christmas.

How sad.

How repulsive our busyness must be to You as we frantically try to meet the expectations of Christmas, while all-the-while You are calling our name to come away — come away into Your Secret Place, Your place of solitude where we learn of Your love and draw strength from Your Presence.

Forgive us for preferring the busy over You — viewing the busy as our priority instead of You.

You are the God of all time. You hung the sun in the heavens and the stars in their places.

You tell the sun when to rise and when to set and, if need be, You tell the sun when to stand still so that a day may be lengthened on our behalf.

You are not bound by time.

We are.

We desire to seek You first — truly we do. But life happens and responsibilities with its distractions snip away at each day and we quickly realize that another day has come and gone without seeking You first — sometimes not seeking You at all.

Help us, Lord.

Open our eyes to see the strategy of the enemy that keeps us bound and away from Your Holy of Holies — Your Secret Place found through solitude.

Make us brave in our battles with him, for You, O Lord, have made us overcomers. We are victorious in You.

I ask that You bring our thoughts captive to You — to think on those things that are lovely and pure and worthy of praise. As we think on those things, open the eyes of our hearts to see You before us beckoning us to come away to a place of solitude with You, if only for a little while.

In the quiet solitude we find peace and the burdens of our hearts are lifted.

Thank You, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name I pray,

Amen

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Please don’t carry your burdens alone. I would be honored to pray for you.

You may contact me directly at nan@nanjones.com

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Congratulations to Carol Parsons!

Carol is November’s winner of an autographed copy of The Perils of a Pastor’s Wife. Thank you, Carol for your encouragement and support. I pray the words of my heart found in this blog offer you strength for your faith journey.