Jan and I have entered a time in our lives where we have chosen to spend extended seasons of time in seclusion apart from many of the things we have been doing for years. We didn’t arrive at this place early on in our life journey. It became our reality as we matured and grew older wanting to finish well. 

This seclusion is not about becoming spiritual hermits. It is making a conscious and calendared choice to step away from the constant demand to produce and be visibly active.  It’s a place where only God knows our exact location. If He needs us, He knows where to find us and bring us out for specific Spirit-directed assignments. When those assignments are completed, we will withdraw once again to our secluded place, a spiritual garden seeded by rest, reflection, and purposed reserve. 

Too much of a life of faith can become a counterfeit of the real thing. It can look good on the surface, but down deep in the human soul, it dismantles the very things we need to live a good and prosperous life. A failure to engage seasons of seclusion will leave us weary, always driven to be industrious at the expense of a true and lasting Kingdom impact.