
Sermon Title: Hope in Solitude; part 2
Scripture: 1 Kings 19
A pattern we see in Elijah’s encounter with God as he undertakes the journey of solitude:
Resting
Waiting
Feeling
Naming
Hearing
Being transformed
Returning
Feelings we’d rather avoid:
Fear
Sadness
Anger
Shame
“Solitude is not a private therapeutic place. Rather it is the place of conversion; the place where the old self dies and the new self is born.” Henri Nouwen - “Making all things new: An invitation to the spiritual life.”
There are two types of people in the world — those who are in despair and know it, and those who are in despair and don’t know it. Soren Kierkegaard - “The sickness unto death.”
Hearing
Even after 1-4, Elijah is still imprisoned by his own perspective of what’s real.
Solitude is the place where we get God’s perspective and learn to see beyond our own.
1 Kings 19:11-14
Being transformed
Transformation is a process; not an instant response or decision we make and everything changes. It requires patience and compassion.
Returning
1 Kings 19:15-20
Sometimes God asks us to go back the way we came so that what’s been given to us in his presence is solidified and we realize that the scariness and bigness of our fears and hurts no longer feels the same or have the same power over us.
The goal of silence and solitude is to come to a place where I know who I am in God, I know how God sees me and I am able to see my life and my world through his eyes.
Our calling and purpose, coming out of silence and solitude, is to become people who are conduits of God’s presence and His spirit in this world.
Additional Notes: