Isolation--One of God's Most Effective Classroom Settings

Isolation as defined by J. Robert Clinton in The Making of A Leader, (the best book on leadership I’ve ever read), is being separated from normal involvement…usually for an extended time, where a leader experiences some aspect of relationship to God in a new or deeper way. He explains that God uses this time of isolation to teach lessons that could not be learned in the pressures of a normal ministry environment.I’ve experienced varying degrees of isolation. Each of our seven newborns brought at least a few months of stepping back. When Bill was sick for three years, we retreated further and further away from ministry involvement, getting together with friends and the like. Our primary social interactions involved doctors or people who came to us—when Bill felt up to it. Same thing happened when Annie got sick. Isolation. Aloneness. Long hours and days of solitude.Look carefully and you'll see that the Bible is replete with examples of isolation. The apostle Paul experienced repeated times of imprisonment. In the Old Testament, Joseph was locked up for thirteen years. Moses spent forty years in relative obscurity before God called him to lead his people out of Egypt.What are God’s purposes in isolation?

• Writing. In Paul’s case, he spent those days alone praying for, and writing letters to, the early church. Letters that would become the New Testament. Kind of a big deal. Paul didn’t waste a lot of time feeling sorry for himself that he wasn’t out “doing the important stuff” while he was in prison. He was doing the important stuff--in isolation.
• Character Development. Joseph's years in jail effectively crushed his former pride and trained him in humility. He faithfully carried out his administrative duties while incarcerated until he was pretty much running the chain-gang show. God's refining process was so thorough that Joseph was able to seamlessly step into the role of prime minister of Egypt the moment he was set free.
• Learning dependence upon God. Moses spent his second forty years as a shepherd learning how to live in the wilderness. It was God's bootcamp for when he’d be circling around in the desert with 2 million of his closest friends during his last forty years.

When Bill was sick and then during the four years caring for Annie, isolation forced me to let go of the constant positive feedback of attaboys that ministry provided, and learn to work for an audience of One. Did this come easy for me? Ah, no. I didn’t like being isolated. I hated it. I spent hours and hours wallowing in the unfairness of it all. But after awhile, God broke through my tantrums and reminded me that I wasn’t alone. I grew in dependence upon God and His companionship. I experienced the power of prayer, and Bill's miraculous healing. The comfort of the Holy Spirit’s presence fended off loneliness. I also learned to appreciate God's love demonstrated through the support of our church, friends and families.What about you? Are you in a period of isolation? Can you identify lessons you're learning? Do you remember past times of isolation and see with a clearer understanding what God taught you?