Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me – Psalm 142:7.
In life, it’s difficult for people to undergo isolation. For many, it may be fear of being singled out. For others, isolation, in general, can be a lonely place.
Being alone is something most people would not like to experience, but sometimes God will place us in positions where we have to be alone so He can take us on a spiritual examination for growth. We all may think we’re okay, and we have no default.
But God sees the inner man and what needs to grow spiritually. We can’t know God if we’re always busy being around people. So sometimes, He has to isolate us to mold and shape us to do the work He has called us to do.
Jonah was God’s prophet, and He commissioned him to preach repentance to Ninevah and the prophet took flight to Tarshish to avoid the task. God responds by stirring up a storm at sea. The pagan seamen prayed to their deities, then determined by lot what or who was the cause of the massive storm. Jonah confessed he was the cause of the storm.
They threw him overboard, and God had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of fish three days and night. Jonah was alone and had plenty of time to ponder over what God had instructed him to do.
Jonah cried out to the Lord, and the Lord spoke to the fish, and the fish regurgitated, placing Jonah on dryland. After being in the belly of the fish for three days and nights, Jonah was ready to do what the Lord had asked him to do.
Jonah went to Nineveh and preached repentance. The Ninevites believed in God and proclaimed a fast. Nothing was to eat, including the animals. God saw they repented and turned from their wicked ways. God changed His mind about destroying the city and people of Nineveh.
Because God repented of destroying Nineveh, Jonah was very upset. He wanted God to destroy the entire nation of Nineveh. God showed Jonah what was in him. First, he was walking in disobedience; secondly, he had a hatred of all non-Jews, especially Assyrians.
As Christians, we need to get alone by ourselves so God can show us what’s in us that we need to be delivered from. We will never know what’s in us until God reveals it.
If you have been called into the five-fold ministry, apostle, prophet, evangelist, teacher, or pastor, God will have you be by yourself on many occasions to build you spiritually for the work He has for you. You find yourself praying or studying the Word of God when others are doing other things.
This is because God has called you into the ministry. Sometimes, God will cause one to be single in order for them to concentrate and focus on the things of God and what their mission is. Being married causes one to focus on how they can please their spouse rather than how they can please God. You can’t get up and go when God tells you to go somewhere or call or have someone calling you in the middle of the night for prayer or counseling.
If you find yourself alone the majority of the time, seek God to see why you’re alone; the answer might surprise you!