Transformative Solitude: Nesting in God's Presence

 

Summary

In our journey of faith, we are driven by a deep-seated desire for significance, a yearning that God has placed within us. This drive, while susceptible to the pitfalls of ego, is something we are called to honor, nurture, and ultimately surrender to God. Today, I want to explore how we can cultivate this drive through the practice of solitude, or as I like to call it, "nesting." This concept is beautifully illustrated in the writings of Henry Nouwen, who describes solitude as the "furnace of transformation."

In the book of Acts, Peter speaks of Jesus' death and resurrection, highlighting that death is not the end but a new beginning—a birth into eternal life. This perspective invites us to view our own spiritual journey as a process of dying to our old selves and being reborn in Christ. Solitude plays a crucial role in this transformation. It is not merely a time for recharging or seeking privacy but a sacred space where we confront our vulnerabilities and meet God.

Nouwen challenges us to unmask the distorted views of solitude that our world promotes. True solitude is not about escaping from others or recharging for life's competitions. Instead, it is a place of conversion, where the old self dies, and the new self is born. It is in the wilderness of solitude that we encounter God, much like Moses, Elijah, and Jesus did.

In solitude, we strip away the scaffolding of our lives—distractions, conversations, and noise—and face our nothingness. This can be uncomfortable, as it exposes our inner turmoil and desires. Yet, it is in this raw state that we find freedom. By persevering in solitude, we become free from the opinions and expectations of others, free to be God's beloved children.

As we build a nest in our hearts, we create a space of hope where our flesh can rest. This solitude empowers us to return to the world, having died to our old selves, and live a life of significance in Christ. Today, I encourage you to carve out moments of solitude, to nest in hope, and to be present with God, allowing Him to work through you.

Key Takeaways:

- Our drive for significance is God-given and should be honored, nurtured, and surrendered to Him. This drive can be infected by ego, but when aligned with God's purpose, it leads to a life of true significance. [00:28]

- Solitude is not about privacy or recharging but a sacred space for transformation. It is where the old self dies, and the new self is born, allowing us to encounter God and be renewed. [06:59]

- In solitude, we confront our vulnerabilities and distractions, facing our nothingness. This process, though uncomfortable, leads to spiritual freedom and a deeper connection with God. [08:19]

- Solitude frees us from the opinions and expectations of others, allowing us to embrace our identity as God's beloved children. It is a place where we can rest in hope and be renewed. [10:40]

- By building a nest in our hearts, we create a space of hope and rest, empowering us to live a life of significance in Christ. Solitude prepares us to return to the world, transformed and free. [11:00]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:28] - Drive for Significance
- [00:42] - At the Abbey
- [01:10] - Solitude and Nesting
- [01:34] - Peter's Speech in Acts
- [02:12] - Death as New Birth
- [03:11] - Joy and Rejoicing
- [03:41] - Resting in Hope
- [04:10] - Creating a Nest
- [05:06] - Solitude as Transformation
- [05:44] - Misconceptions of Solitude
- [06:59] - Solitude as Conversion
- [08:01] - Facing Nothingness
- [09:29] - Meeting God in Solitude
- [10:13] - Freedom in Solitude
- [11:15] - Nesting in Hope

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Acts 2:23-28 - Peter's speech about Jesus' death and resurrection.
2. Psalm 16:8-11 - Quoted by Peter in Acts, emphasizing hope and joy in God's presence.

Observation Questions:
1. In Acts 2:23-24, how does Peter describe the role of God in Jesus' death and resurrection? What does this suggest about God's sovereignty? [01:34]
2. According to the sermon, how does Henry Nouwen describe solitude, and why is it important for spiritual transformation? [05:30]
3. What does the sermon suggest is the common misconception about solitude in today's world? [06:21]
4. How does the concept of "nesting" relate to the idea of solitude as presented in the sermon? [04:10]

Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the idea of death as a new birth, as mentioned in Acts 2:24, challenge or affirm your understanding of spiritual transformation? [01:58]
2. What does it mean to "die to our old selves" and be "reborn in Christ" in the context of solitude? How does this process look practically in one's life? [06:59]
3. How might solitude help someone confront their vulnerabilities and distractions, as described in the sermon? What role does this play in spiritual growth? [08:19]
4. In what ways does solitude free us from the opinions and expectations of others, and how does this freedom impact our identity as God's beloved children? [10:40]

Application Questions:
1. Reflect on your current drive for significance. How can you honor and nurture this drive while ensuring it aligns with God's purpose for your life? [00:28]
2. Consider your current understanding of solitude. How can you create a "nest" in your heart to foster a deeper connection with God? [04:10]
3. Identify a specific distraction or vulnerability in your life. How can you use solitude to confront and address this issue? [08:19]
4. Think about a time when you felt pressured by others' opinions or expectations. How can solitude help you embrace your identity as God's beloved child? [10:40]
5. What practical steps can you take this week to carve out moments of solitude and be present with God? How might this practice transform your daily life? [11:15]
6. How can you ensure that your moments of solitude are not just about recharging but truly about transformation and meeting with God? [06:59]
7. Reflect on the idea of "nesting in hope." How can you cultivate a hopeful heart in your daily interactions and challenges? [11:15]

Devotional

Day 1: Honoring Our God-Given Drive for Significance
Our drive for significance is a divine gift, meant to be honored, nurtured, and ultimately surrendered to God. This yearning, while vulnerable to the influence of ego, is a fundamental part of our spiritual journey. When aligned with God's purpose, it leads to a life of true significance. This drive is not about self-promotion or worldly success but about finding our place in God's plan. By surrendering our ambitions to Him, we allow God to transform our desires into a force for good, leading us to a life that reflects His glory. [00:28]

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10, ESV)

Reflection: What is one ambition or desire you have that you can surrender to God today, trusting Him to align it with His purpose for your life?


Day 2: Solitude as a Sacred Space for Transformation
Solitude is not merely a time for privacy or recharging; it is a sacred space for transformation. In solitude, we are invited to die to our old selves and be reborn in Christ. This process involves confronting our vulnerabilities and distractions, allowing us to encounter God in a profound way. Solitude is where we strip away the noise of the world and face our true selves, creating an opportunity for God to renew us. It is a place of conversion, where we can experience the transformative power of God's presence. [06:59]

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: How can you create a space for solitude in your daily routine this week, allowing God to transform you in that sacred time?


Day 3: Facing Our Nothingness in Solitude
In solitude, we confront our vulnerabilities and distractions, facing our nothingness. This process, though uncomfortable, leads to spiritual freedom and a deeper connection with God. By persevering in solitude, we become free from the opinions and expectations of others, allowing us to embrace our identity as God's beloved children. It is in this raw state that we find true freedom, as we learn to rely solely on God's love and grace. [08:19]

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10, ESV)

Reflection: What distractions or opinions of others are you holding onto that you need to release in solitude to embrace your identity in Christ?


Day 4: Embracing Our Identity as God's Beloved Children
Solitude frees us from the opinions and expectations of others, allowing us to embrace our identity as God's beloved children. In this sacred space, we can rest in hope and be renewed, finding the courage to live authentically as God created us to be. By building a nest in our hearts, we create a space of hope and rest, empowering us to live a life of significance in Christ. Solitude prepares us to return to the world, transformed and free. [10:40]

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are." (1 John 3:1, ESV)

Reflection: How can you remind yourself daily of your identity as God's beloved child, especially when faced with the expectations of others?


Day 5: Nesting in Hope and Living a Transformed Life
By building a nest in our hearts, we create a space of hope and rest, empowering us to live a life of significance in Christ. Solitude prepares us to return to the world, transformed and free. This nesting in hope allows us to rest in God's promises and be renewed in His presence. As we embrace this transformation, we are equipped to live out our faith with courage and purpose, impacting the world around us for God's glory. [11:00]

"But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take today to build a "nest" in your heart, creating a space of hope and rest in God's presence?

Quotes


well you were made to count you have a drive for significance god put that in you he put it in me it's a real good thing although it can easily get infected by ego but it is a drive that we are to honor and to nurture and to surrender to god and i want to talk to you today a bit about uh how to do that [00:00:19]

and i want to get to wisdom from another one of the masters we've often been thinking about ignatius in these days but there's a wonderful writer priest named henry nouwen and i want to get to some of his thoughts but i want to start in the book of acts when the spirit comes and peter gets up to speak in front of a whole bunch of people about jesus [00:01:16]

death itself far from being the end is actually a kind of new birth a kind of beginning we die in order to live he goes on to say for it was not possible death was not able powerful strong enough to hold him and it made me think of that poem by john dunn that you might know death be not proud [00:02:01]

and then he says and my body will also rest in hope and for body he uses the word flesh which so often um gives such a bad rap and flesh usually means just simply our lives apart from the power of god but our flesh our bodies are made to be redeemed you might just take a moment right now and relax your flesh relax your body take a deep breath [00:03:38]

and i love thinking about creating a little nest in the presence of god some people are gifted at nesting my wife is one of them i usually work in a little office off a garage and i would just let it look like whatever it looks like but nancy recently helped me pick out a beautiful picture for me to look at and the rug to put on the floor [00:04:16]

solitude is meant to be a kind of a gift now if you're introverted that might sound really good to you you look forward to it if you're extroverted you might hate that idea like solitude wouldn't be so bad as long as you could bring some friends along with you but it is an important part not the only part not the most important part but one important part of our spiritual journey [00:05:04]

in order to understand the meaning of solitude we must first unmask the ways which the idea of solitude has been distorted by our world we say to each other that we need some solitude in our lives what we're really thinking of however is a time and a place for ourselves in which we are not bothered by other people we can think our own thoughts express our own complaints do our own thing whatever it may be [00:05:47]

for them 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 the place where the emergence of the new man and the new woman occurs and in the bible very often the picture of this and the literal embodiment of it is in the desert in the wilderness [00:07:01]

now it goes on because how do i do this what do i do in solitude i get rid of my scaffolding no friends to talk with no telephone calls to make no meetings to attend no music to entertain no books to distract just me naked vulnerable weak sinful deprived broken nothing that sounds appealing doesn't it [00:07:53]

and there i can meet with god we first of all enter into solitude to meet with god and to meet with god alone there's a deep way in which when you try to go into solitude you can't get it wrong it's not primarily about what we do it's primarily about what we don't do i just abstain from all the scaffolding of my life from all the distractions from all the stimulation from all the conversation from all the noise [00:09:31]

and for me what happens if i am willing to stay in the solitude long enough is freedom spiritual practices disciplines if you want to call them that and some of you don't are always about freedom that's true for disciplines in general you practice scale so that you will be free to play the piano you recite a vocabulary or an alphabet of a foreign language so you will be free to say what it is that you want to say [00:10:05]

i build a little nest in my heart and it is constructive of hope and my poor flesh can rest there and then i can go back into the world having died to that old life nobody's freer than a dead man dead woman and then i find life so you might think today where can you carve out a little solitude you're doing it right now to nest in hope right now to be present to god right now [00:10:42]

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Transcript
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