Pastoral Perspective: Lessons from a Solo Day
Several years ago, I had the privilege of training for wilderness trips in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada. The training was meant to prepare me to take small groups backpacking, canoeing and portaging for several days in the wilderness. I would use those trips as leadership and spiritual growth training opportunities.
My training lasted 10 days and cell service was nonexistent for seven of those days. On Wednesday, I had been in the wilderness for four days, the trainer/guide pulled me aside and said to me “Today is your solo day.”
He took me in a canoe to a desolate area and dropped me off for the day. No watch, no supplies except for water, but I had a journal and my Bible. It turned out to be an eight-hour day by myself with no technology. Just me, my Bible, and whatever animal might be traipsing around in the wilderness with me. It was incredible!
To be honest, I was not prepared mentally or spiritually for the Solo Day. There had been a lot of stuff going on in my life at the time, and to stop for eight hours to be alone in my thoughts, well, that’s just not a good thing very often.
I enjoy going back to that journal from time to time reading about my training and recalling what was going on in my mind and heart at the time. I love (and that is the correct use of the word) the outdoors.
But wouldn’t you know it, there were lessons for me to learn on that day … out in the wilderness … on my own.
Maybe these two lessons will be good reminders to you as you finish out 2022 and look forward to 2023. Just two lessons. They are hard enough to learn and apply.
Lesson number one: slow down and rest a bit.
For some of you reading this, “disconnecting” or “unplugging” from the world or its devises is difficult to do. Yet there are numerous studies that strongly encourage us to do so.
Honestly, I thought what we went through over the last few years in this nation and the world would slow us down a bit. I thought it would possibly reset the culture a bit, but instead it appears to have done more to agitate and aggravate us even into a panicked state of life and living.
Now, we would never call that stage the “panic stage.” We are too sophisticated and egocentric to label it using those terms. We would call that stage “live as if the world was gonna end.” We fill our days. We fill our schedules with our vacations, our dreams, our goals, our kids/grandkids schedules, appointments, our plans and numerous oddities.
In and of themselves, these are not bad things but when they become the ultimate thing, we no longer rest. When they become ultimate things, they become idols, idols of our hearts.
And you better believe that leisure can be an idol, too. All of the sudden we don’t have time to pray, time to read God’s Word or time to fellowship with others.
Add to that a diminished capacity to serve others whether in a church or in the community because we have filled our cups to overflowing with our own concoctions. We appear to be a bit frazzled.
What if we slowed down? What if we rested a bit? What if we sabbath? I am not talking about a discussion on what day to worship God. I mean slow down, rest and be disciplined to focus on the thing that matters most.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism says it like this: “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
How’s that going for ya?
There was a time in the life of Jesus where he had been teaching and healing and ministering for hours on end even into the late evening hours.
Then Mark writes in 1:35, “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.”
He took a solo day. Later, the apostles had been ministering full tilt and Jesus said to them in Mark 6:31, “Come away by yourself to a desolate place and rest a while.”
Are you tired? Spent? Frazzled? Jesus said, “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Lesson number two: Trust the Lord because He is in control.
This lesson is a booger to learn. On a desolate patch of shoreline in the wilderness of Canada, I wrestled with this lesson long and hard. At the time, I was actually mad at God.
Dare I say that? Sure! God already knew it and He could handle my rantings. Some things in my life seemed to have been spiraling out of control and I was struggling to believe that God is good all the time. But to believe differently, well, that would actually be unbelief.
So I wrestled. I hashed it out with Him while sitting through my Solo Day. Proverbs 3:5,6 can become so familiar to us that it can lose its luster and its value, but it will never lose its trueness.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your path.”
You may be asking, “Where do I start?” The Psalmist gives you a starting point, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
You have to spend time in His Word. It will prove a couple of things: You either trust God or you don’t; You either trust His Word or you don’t.
Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
“Yeah, but look at all the bad things happening and suffering in the world! How can God be in control?”
Simple. Everything is heading toward His forever Kingdom and toward His forever glory. According to Proverbs 21:1 even “The King’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
When we are in the thick of it, when we are in the throes of chaos because of the broken, sinful world that we live in or because our own brokenness and sinfulness, we can trust God.
Christian, God’s promise was true when it was written, it is true today and because God’s Word lasts forever, it will be true for eternity. God promises this: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Do you trust him? Do you trust His Word?
I will never forget that day in the wilderness in Canada. In fact, I now plan four solo days a year on purpose, with purpose. These two lessons may be two of the hardest lessons to learn. Actually, these lessons may be lifers.
What do I mean? I mean these may be lessons that have to be learned daily for the rest of our lives and applied moment by moment. Look ahead to the end of 2022 and think about 2023. Do you need a Solo Day?
A Solo Day is not a wasted day or a day in bed or a day at the beach. Actually, it could be a day at the beach but not with a good book. Actually, it could be a day at the beach with the best book, God’s Word, and a notepad/journal. Find a “desolate” place. Read the Bible. Pray.
At first, it may be one of the most awkward things you have ever done, but the more Solo Days you have, the better you get at them.
Here are some quick hints: Solo Days are not days off to get a “honey-do” list done. That list has been on the fridge for a year. It will be there when you get back. A Solo Day is not “get away from the kids” day although that might be a little bonus gift. Solo Days aren’t pampering days.
Solo Days may be in a tree stand but instead of hunting, you are spending time alone with God and His Word. Solo Days are on purpose. I hope you will give one a try. I would love to hear about your experience: jarrod@pontiacbible.org.
Rev. Jarrod Bartholomew pastors at Pontiac Bible Church in Pontiac
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Rev. Bartholomew Pastoral Perspective: Lessons from a Solo Day
