When God Isolates You

No one wants to be alone. And God didn't create us to be alone. In fact, I believe God has placed an innate desire for community, friendships, and relationships in the hearts of his creation. Humans were designed for this -- connection, intimacy, love -- these things are just as necessary to our health and well-being as food and water.

Nevertheless, sometimes God allows (and even orchestrates) periods where we walk alone. Why does He do this? Why would He isolate us when loneliness can be more detrimental to our health than smoking fifteen cigarettes a day? God allows seasons of isolation for three main reasons.

1. To prepare you

2. To elevate you

3. To draw you closer to Him

   
   

Let's start with the first reason: preparation. How does isolation prepare me? And more importantly, what is it preparing me for? Seasons of isolation prepare you for your purpose by removing unnecessary distractions.

Take Jesus, for example. We learn in Luke Chapter 4 that before Jesus started his ministry, he was led by the spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted by the devil for 40 days. During this wilderness journey, Jesus was completely alone -- deprived of food, water, and human connection. Three things necessary for human survival, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be deprived of. The question is, why?

God removed all interruptions and disturbances, creating a unique space where Jesus could focus entirely on Him and the purposes He had for his life. This didn't mean that Jesus's period of isolation didn't come with struggles, because it did. The Bible tells us Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days -- 40 days! The devil tempted Jesus every single day of his wilderness journey.

Although Jesus may have been physically weak due to the lack of food, his spirit was stronger than ever. Every time the devil tried to use his weaknesses against him, Jesus responded not by giving into temptation, but by standing firm on the truth of God's word. The wilderness, though isolating and difficult, equipped Jesus with the spiritual tools he needed to endure. And endurance? This was a characteristic the savior of the world would need plenty of.

When the 40 days concluded, the Bible tells us Jesus returned to Galilee full of power and began his ministry -- one that would last about three years and lead Him to make the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. It was those 40 days of isolation in the wilderness that prepared Jesus for his destiny: to become the savior of humanity.

It's important to note Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted. This was something God allowed and orchestrated because God will never usher us into our purpose without first preparing us.

Walking in your purpose can also be viewed as elevation, which naturally leads me to the second reason God isolates: to elevate you.

One of my favorite examples of isolation in the Bible is the story of Joseph. God gave Joseph divine dreams about his future -- visions of the incredible purpose He had planned for Joseph’s life. But at the time, Joseph was just a young shepherd living in his father’s house. His brothers despised him, taunted him, and even his own father struggled to understand the significance of Joseph’s dreams.

The jealousy of his brothers eventually consumed them, and they betrayed Joseph by selling him into slavery. Overnight, Joseph was ripped away from a comfortable life with his family and thrust into bondage in a foreign land. He didn’t know the language, didn’t have any connections, and was miles away from everything and everyone he had ever known.

As you can probably imagine, Joseph endured incredible pain and misfortune (false accusations, imprisonment, betrayal, trauma, and more), but even still, he held on to his faith and trust in God. And in the end, God rewarded him by fulfilling the very dreams He had given him. Joseph rose to become the second most powerful man in Egypt and was instrumental in saving countless lives during a devastating famine. What seemed like unbearable loss and isolation was, in fact, God’s process of elevating him.

During Joseph's period of isolation, he had nothing to lean on except God and the promises God had made to him. And this naturally takes us to the last reason God isolates us; to draw us closer to Him.

When we find ourselves in seasons where friends have left, opportunities have fallen through, money is acting funny, and family abandons us, these are some of the most important moments in our walk with the Lord because they force us to lean and depend on him in ways we wouldn't have if things were going perfectly.

Think about it: would you have prayed as long and as hard as you did if you didn't lose the job? If the boyfriend didn't break up with you? If you had the money to pay your rent?

It's only in these moments that we can learn God to be everything He says He is.

A provider.

A protector.

A healer.

A deliverer.

A counselor.

A dear friend.

I've been on a journey with the Lord for over six years now, and in that time, He has taken me through many seasons and versions of solitude. At this point, I am all too familiar with being alone.

I've stood alone in my deeply held convictions.

I've endured alone in mistreatment.

I've cried alone in my grief.

I've suffered alone in my pain.

And finally, I've walked alone -- literally -- with nothing and no one but God by my side.

Though there have been many hard days and even days where I questioned God's goodness in my life, I wouldn't trade those periods for this simple reason: it has drawn me closer to God. When I didn't have anyone to talk to, I talked to Him. And guess what? He talked to me, too. When people left me, He remained. When I was confused, He brought clarity. When I was lost, He showed me the way. And when I wanted to give up, He ensured I stood still.

It was in those moments of isolation that he became my dearest and bestest friend.

I can finally see how God removing certain people, allowing certain things to befall me, and closing many doors of opportunity, were working for my good. If it weren't for the things I deemed 'bad', I wouldn't have even a portion of the good I have in my life now.

So, if there's anyone reading this going through a season of isolation, I hope this post encourages you to view your solitude in a different light -- to rest in expectation for what God is going to use this period to do in your life.