School of Loneliness
"For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalms 30:5 KJV)
We live in a fast past society with all its modern gimmicks, games, videos, radio, TV and a host of other inventions that keeps a person mentally trapped from facing themself. Like the words from a song. "I walked a mile with pleasure she chattered all the way leaving me none the wiser, with all she had to say " ---- Barry McGuire
Many have learned to escape solitude by indulging in these pleasures, but inside they are spiritual dying, because they will not separate themselves long enough to examine their hearts. Within our churches it is a plague that has reached epidemic proportions. We have become entertainment crazed. Growing numbers of Christians will not attend church unless there’s a show-biz type atmosphere. Searching for something to make them feel good and escape from reality.
Take away from many modern churches the flash, and glitter, the noise and boasting, take away the fancy buildings, and what you will find is dried bones beneath all the makeup. No life, just hype! What is it that has brought us to such a terrible state? There can only be one answer. We have lost our first love.
I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. (Revelation 2:2-4 KJV)
When I Read the lives of the saints of God that have gone on before us, I have found one factor that is prevalent in all their lives and that is the School of Loneliness. Why is there such a need for this place we all dread? Because, till we learn what it means to be totally rejected we can never understand what it means to be accepted. Accepted into the realm of grace.
"Grace is the wondrous, abounding merciful gift of God. However, many who claim to be Christian treat it with about as much reverence as they give to a cheap package they open up on the holidays. They have not understood the beauty, and cost of their atonement. Because of this, lives are often lived out in carnality. This fallen world has no place for the child of God to call home.
"Whenever A Christian feels comfortable here, there in danger of becoming lukewarm. However, for those that long for a more intimate relationship with the Lord, sooner or later they enter into the School of Loneliness. This classroom is a place without company, shut off from all the bustle and hustle, a place where all hell will break loose, the desert experience where all that is in a man is exposed by the heat of the testing of one’s faith.
"Many will do all they can to avoid such a place. They will seek for name and fame, but they will not submit to this place where the holy flame burns up all pride. I truly believe that any man who wants to walk in true communion with the Lord will not escape this place. It is the place of rejection, where a man’s heart is exposed for what it is; the dark hour where the arrow of truth pierces through the schemes of the fallen nature of man.
"There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10-12 KJV)
It is in this place where one is forsaken by friends, misunderstood by family, rejected by peers, and shunned by the arrogance of the day. It is the midnight hour where one becomes broken to the point of usefulness, or flees and becomes useless. This is the place where the mask of compromise is discarded and the nakedness of what we truly are is revealed. It is the dividing line where men who love His appearing press forward, and where cowards turn and run.
"Loneliness is a curse word to the selfish prideful man. However, to those called to this place, it becomes the breeding ground for true men of prayer. This is not the place where some pious monk locks himself away from a world so desperately in need, or a place of a self-centered recluse. It is where the fire from above burns away all that is from below.
"It is God's place for God's men [and women]. It is the Gethsemane of the chosen where the only prayer on one’s lips will be "Not my will but Thine be done."
"In Gethsemane, Jesus asked His friends to watch and wait for Him for one hour, they did not. Abandon, and alone in a world full of hate, God's own Son was forsaken by those who was His closes friends. It will be the same for you and me, if we really want to know the power from above. We may never drop sweats of blood, but if we will draw to this place we will truly learn that help comes from above. "I walked a mile with sorrow never a word said she. Oh, the things I learned from her when sorrow walked with me." --- Barry McGuire
"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. (John 15:18-20 KJV)
His Grace is sufficient for our salvation; it is the free gift of God. No one can buy, sell, or trade it, no works or riches can purchase it. However, to be a soldier is a commitment of love, the price of a bond servant, one who forsakes all for the Name of the Lord. No man can truly carry his cross until he counts the cost.
In the School of Loneliness, one can be surrounded by the masses, and even work, minister, and reach out to those in need, but the soul of this pilgrim of faith will be secluded and set apart for God's working power within his life. When a man finds himself separated on to the Lord, he becomes a stranger, and oddity that this world cannot understand. This vile world will never be a friend to grace. It will put up a fight against any who bear the banner of mercy.
The devil is a destroyer of souls and he will oppose those who do not fear his dark dungeons. If a Christian fights the good fight of faith, he will find himself treading the valley of the shadow of death. This is the place of abandonment, where lashing tongues, and the vomit of gossip spews out its ugly waste. It is the place where one treads the cesspool of despair finding himself grasping for fresh air. The place where the world really shows its ugly face. When the child of God chooses to set himself apart, he will know the agony of the garden, and the dragons of darkness who shoot their darts of condemnation trying to stop the sojourner in his race. "No one in their right mind", as the world would state, would want to venture into such a place. But those who are Christ-minded will bend their knees in this place of solitude and supplication and draw their strength from the One who was despised and forsaken by all men. It is the place where devils attack with raging fury, but it is where God molds His men for His glory. This is the place where Peter wept bitterly, his heart exposed to his own frailty, pride, and failures. When Peter found out he had no strength within his flesh to rely on, then the Holy Spirit was able to find a place for His dwelling. Pride will never share the heart with God's Spirit. Light and darkness cannot dwell together. It will be one or the other. Paul knew this place. Damascus road was his first approach to this School of Loneliness. He was knocked off his high horse and found himself lying in the dirt, the very substance he was made from. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? (Acts 9:3-4 KJV)
Until we let the Lord humble us, we also will be persecutors of the name of Christ. Because God glories in no flesh. We may impress others, and have our names in lights, or may even think we are doing right, but until we find ourselves alone faced with ourselves, and exposed, we will never be the vessels He wants us to be. After the Damascus experience, Paul considered himself dead to the world, and His only desire that day forward, was to know his Lord. He faced many trials in his journey, and he classed himself as the dredge of society the scum of the earth. Through all his adversities, nothing would deter him from running the race, because he had been through the School of Loneliness.
Satan could no longer find in him a place to shop, so instead he prepared for him the chopping block. Let us be honest with ourselves! Are we ready for such a price? How many evangelists today call themselves the scum of the earth? We look like the world, we act like the world, and we mimic the world, putting on some Christians labels to convince ourselves that we are pleasing God. However, if a man truly submits to God's refining fire, and learns what it is to be in the School of Loneliness his message will be one of purity and fire, and the world will respond in hate. ---- Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12 KJV)
The School of Loneliness might end with a world crying out, "Off with their head" but it is the place where the soldier of Christ is equipped to fight the good fight of faith. The testing ground where men find out if they are standing on the Solid Rock or sinking sand. The place of faith where God takes the foolish things of the world and confounds the wise. Men who were once ruthless in sin, now redeemed, taking hold of heaven by faith, having nothing to claim but God's grace. Once fallen, now chosen, and as Paul they hear the Masters call: And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:5-6 KJV)
This is no easy place, but if you truly want to be a vessel of His mercy, you will have to enter in. If you choose to run with endurance the race, you will never get the strength outside of this place. It is in this place where the heart of the Christian is exposed to all its weaknesses. Even those you put confidence in will turn from you, because you will fail them. You will be weak, and all their high expectations of you will be shattered. It is no easy road, the way is rough, because God is breaking up the follow ground, tearing out all the roots of wickedness that have hid themselves amongst the good fruit. The student of loneliness will find himself embarrassed, and ashamed, because of all that will surface exposing itself to a world that will mock, and criticize all failures of God's children. Some may read this and accuse me of proclaiming works, I can only say that it is in this place that one truly realizes that there is nothing in us that is of value outside of the grace of God. Pride has set a deep root in our hearts, and till it is exposed and uprooted it will always bear its ugly head. Like the weed in the garden that is cut off at surface level but days later sprouts again choking out the life of that which is fruitful, so to the heart that is deceitful and wicked above all else. Only in the School of Loneliness is bitterness put under forever.
The School of Loneliness will expose darkness and uproot the selfish pride within. If we are to grow, we must allow the power of God too work within. However, we cannot do this until we are in a place where we can listen to that still small voice. No man can do this for you, no preacher, teacher, friend, or enemy, will do, only you and God. This is the wonderful work of grace. It is the atonement being worked out in our lives. Jesus died to save us to His fullness. Vessels for His honor, and until we are set apart, alone to hear His calling, we can never be of much use. It is not a pleasant thing to be lonely. Many of us know what it is to be misunderstood, rejected, criticized, and often hated. We may have been offensive, rude, sinful and bitter causing us rejection, or maybe just not accepted because of a difference in one’s life. If you are alone, even in the midst of many, yet feeling a desperation within, are you willing to let God work? Lay aside all bitterness, and let God expose your heart. ----- Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; (Hebrews 12:15 KJV)
Hear Him, and He will teach you in this place of separation. Do not look for comfort and answers from the world. Abide in Christ. Trust Him in this dark hour, and truly you will see the light of His wondrous mercy. There are many glory seekers today in our churches who seek their own fame and do not glorify Christ name. Their lives have been full of noise, rattles and foolish pleasures, the thought of separating oneself from this frightens them, because they are not willing to be exposed to the fire from above that burns away all chaff from below. However, the one who seeks to glorify Christ name will know the narrow way and the hours spent in the garden of loneliness being shaped into vessels for His honor. The willing heart, will soon find out that the only teacher in this place will be the Holy Spirit, their manual the bible, their classroom the closet of prayer. The wisdom of men will have no say, the lukewarm, comfort, and ease has no place in this class room. This is the place of fuller’s soap where washing and regeneration leads to the higher place, the upper room where tongues of fire fall on the hungry hearts of saints. It is the place where men are appointed and anointed. ----- But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. (Malachi 3:2-3 KJV)
You can either join the growing ranks of those who make a lot of noise, clanging cymbals with no real distinction or the School of Loneliness that will fill the heart with unction and holy fire. Revival is found here, for it is this place where men empty themselves and abandon their lives into a right relationship with God. Do you cry out to know His presence in a true and fruitful manner? If you do, then do not avoid this quiet place. Though none go with you, and all turn against you, though friends and family do not understand, do not refuse this training ground of mercy. "Lord take us to this place, this Gethsemane where all pride is destroyed, and You Lord Jesus become are one true Joy. Where we come to our end, and you Lord truly dwell within."
The School of Loneliness, is the way of the crucified, the narrow road where those who venture its path will hear the voice of the One who is glorified. ----- And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 KJV)