Alone...Lent Photo-a-Day

Alone…A word that can be somewhat intimidating.  Many people do not like to be alone.  It’s lonely.  It leaves us with our own thoughts.  It’s a territory that we try to avoid.  We fill our lives with noise even if we are physically alone so we don’t feel alone. Yet, being alone allows us to focus and hear.  Jesus went off to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray before all of the events occurred that led up to His crucifixion.  His disciples were with Him, but when He went and prayed He went alone.  Luke 22:41 notes – “He withdrew from them.”  He withdrew to focus on His Father.  He may have been alone, without His disciples, but He was with His Father. 

I wonder if sometimes we don’t want to be alone with our Father because we don’t like what we hear?  If you look at scripture, Jesus prayed – “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)  Jesus did not get the answer He “wanted” because in verse 44 of Luke 22 it notes, “And being in agony He prayed more earnestly”.  However, in verse 43 it states, “And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.”  Jesus didn’t get the answer He was looking for but He trusted His Father.  We may not get the answer that we want; but our Father is with us and gives us what we need to move forward. 

The picture of the desert depicts a great deal of nothing and a sense of being alone.  However, it can also be depicted as a place of God’s beauty and a chance to get away from the “noise” of life and hear our Father.  You don’t need a desert to be alone to hear God.  Find your place that you can focus on God and hear His plans for you.

Cheryl