Solitary Confinement

With the Internet, phones, computers, radio, TV, email, ipods, twitter, facebook, myspace, and any other technology that you use, it can be hard to slow down. In fact, we are so fast paced that if we slow down (without any noise), it seems like we are in solitary confinement. It feels like we are in jail, and we try to get out as soon as possible.

I first noticed this a couple of years ago as I would try to periodically shut off everything as I drive and just think. It is difficult to do. As soon as I did, I felt uncomfortable. I needed noise. My mind instantly started jumping all over the place on a variety of things that either were important to me or that I needed to get done.

Why is silence so strange for us? Why do we constantly need something (e.g. music, TV, etc.) making noise?

(As I'm typing this I had some music turned on from a You Tube video and it just ended. Nothing else came on, so I stopped writing this to go turn another song on. I didn't even recognize I was doing it. I was in the process of writing about this topic. Crazy.)

"Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (Jesus) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (Mark 1:35). Jesus was really good at recognizing when He needed time alone. By reading through the gospels, it's obvious that he knew what the vision was for His life. Regardless of knowing the big picture, He still spent time periodically alone. Was He finding out His mission for each day? Was He simply enjoying time communicating with the Father? Was He being restored so He could be the warrior that He was and lead the people He loves? Maybe all these things are true.

Lets follow Jesus' model and remember that we need a balance of connecting and disconnecting in order to live and accomplish what He desires for us.