Why do we like solitude so much? And when we get a bit of it, we just want so much more! The more we are in solitude, the more we want to stay in solitude and never, ever leave. It is peaceful, we can process our thoughts and emotions there, truly calm down, and best of all, we can connect with God on a much deeper level. For an introvert, this is paradise. For an extrovert, maybe not so much, and yet still important.

We were not meant to live this busy of lives. We were meant to have periods of rest and boredom. The downtimes allow us to recharge and reconnect in ways we could not otherwise. We crave solitude because we know we are meant to have it in our lives. We know that is how we are supposed to connect with God throughout the days, not connect with Him just at church on Sundays. Solitude allows time for prayer to listen to Him; He never goes against what the Bible says, even if it does not make sense to us in that moment, He is seeing something we do not for His ways are higher than ours, and it always works out. It is a different kind of connection; the kind where we can truly be us, and cry or yell if we need to, or just sit quietly with Him and listen. Solitude is meant for that and it is necessary to our soul like food and water is to our body. When we have solitude, we can hear what God wants us to be and where He wants us to go, along with working on becoming our own best friends. That pain that the quietness can cause allows us to not only process, but discipline and grow ourselves in ways we could not otherwise do.

Material goods we were not meant to have as much of as well, as that takes away time we could more easily put towards solitude and other areas of life. Instead, we are cleaning more than we need to be (including extra kitchen appliances, extra furniture, extra clothes, etc.), working longer hours to pay bills for the stuff we bought, doing maintenance on something, wasting time with subscriptions we do not need (ie: cable, streaming services), etc. When we own less, a lot less, time is no longer the issue that it is for most people. It is easier to find time for solitude in your day then. (And bonus- owning a lot less tends to cut down our stress levels too!)

We also were not meant to have as much of certain things including bright lights and loud noises as we do these days. The sun slowly rises, slowly changes the brightness and later in the day, slowly sets, bringing darkness behind it. Some days are very bright and sunny, other days are cloudy and even snowy. We were meant to have a mixture of light brightness, not just all the lights on all at once, all day, every day. Same with noise. So many of us barely even notice the sound of a babbling stream anymore, and yet that should be a sound we really hear and notice. I am not saying we can never have bright lights and loud noise, just not all day every day. The changes of lights and sounds naturally help with our body’s rhythm, which affects all eleven of our body’s systems (including our nervous system, circulatory system, and our lymphatic system), and our mind and spirit.

Solitude allows us to leave this world behind. Our culture pushes worldly things, not Godly things on us, and tries to steal our solitude because that is our time to connect with God and ourselves, and help us think more clearly. This world just wants us to always be too busy to even think, much less enjoy little things in life like we are supposed to. Enough is never enough for the world.

Solitude is also easier for most people because you do not have to deal with other personalities outside of your own. That is why we cannot always stay in solitude forever. (Sorry introverts). Learning to work with other people grows us in ways we otherwise would not grow. And never any solitude also makes us miss opportunities to grow and reflect. We need a balance of both. The practical question is “how do I make time for both?”

Making time for both can be challenging, but necessary. Even 5-10 minutes a day can help change where you are at. Depending upon your schedule, it may be easiest to get up ten minutes earlier or go to bed ten minutes later. You could also use part of your lunch break or any break to just sit in solitude. Pray, ask and sit quietly. Remember God does not always answer the second we ask. He wants us to build discipline and truly seek Him. If that is too much, try even just driving home without the radio, podcasts, or anything on. Talk to Jesus as if he was sitting in the passenger seat right by you. When we keep devoting ourselves and seeking Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds, he then starts to answer and speak to us. (Deuteronomy 4:29, Jeremiah 29:12-13) Taking time for yourself to be in solitude for a bit is not selfish or a luxury. It is a necessity to better connect with God.