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A faithful presence of love in the absences of our city.

Alone

Alone Blog

There is a TV show on the History Channel called “Alone”.  The premiss the show is that contestants are left in the wilderness, by themselves, with a few survival tools and the contestant who is able to survive the longest, wins the grand prize.  Whenever I see this show I like to visualize myself in this scenario and consider what I would do to survive. I’d like to think that I could survive in the wild by myself: that it would be a fun, manly experience.  However, I probably wouldn’t make it for more than a few days, due primarily to my own loneliness.  I have a hard time being alone in the silence. At home, on the rare occasion no one else is there, I find myself pacing around until I find something to do.

In this weeks sermon, Josh read from Luke 4. In this passage Jesus is sent out into the desert to be alone for forty days. This is the time where Christ was tempted by the Devil, but also a time where he prepared for the ministry he was about to embark on.  Throughout the gospel we see Christ taking time to be alone with his Father. He does this before and after being with large groups of people, and in the Garden of Gethsemane before he is crucified. 

As I think about my own daily rhythms I cannot remember the last time I took time to be alone with God.  In all honesty, I didn’t even know that I was writing the blog this week until my wife casually reminded me on Wednesday.  When she told me, I rolled my eyes and thought to myself “great, one more thing to do today, and I didn’t even hear the sermon on Sunday.” As I begrudgingly listened to the sermon during the kid’s naps I began to realize that this is one of the times that God is giving me exactly what I need.  My life has been lacking personal time with my Lord and Savior for sometime now.  There have been times when I tell myself that I need to wake up early to read my bible and pray, trying to start good habits. Unfortunately this will only last for a few days and I cannot seem to bring myself to sit alone and just be with God. 

For me, time alone with God is important for re-centering my life on Christ.  I forget so quickly that I am here on this earth to live for him and not myself.  When I am lacking this alone time I can see the effects it has on myself and those around me.  I won’t be thinking about living and and acting in a way that points others to Christ, or how I can be loving and pursuing my wife better, or how I can be teaching my kids about God's love for them.  I tend do just do whatever I want and do not think about how those action can be harming myself or others in my life.  Spending time with the Father, as Christ did, can set the focus back him.  It reminds me that even through I neglect God in my day to day life, He has never turned away from me.  I am so grateful that He remains steadfast in my life and continues to watch over me even when I a straying away.  He brings us back to the cross and reminds us for the love he has for us.  Knowing and understanding this simple fact drives me to take the time to spend time with God.   I desire for this to be a habit so that I am living my life with Christ in the center of everything I do. 

~Stephen Siebert