The spiritual practice of desolation
What comes to mind when you hear the word "desolate"?
According to my online dictionary, the word refers to a place that is barren, devastated, or lonely. It also refers to a feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope. In other words, there are not many positive connotations attached to the idea of desolate or desolation.
Not so in the life of Jesus. Interestingly, desolate places play a very important role in his ministry. For him, they were places of quiet and freedom from distractions.
Eight of the nine times the Greek word for "desolate" is used in the Gospels, it describes something to do with Jesus (the ninth instance describes the location of John the Baptist):
Jesus was compelled by the Spirit to a desolate place, where he was tempted by the devil
He went to desolate places to be alone and pray
He sought out a desolate place with his disciples, so that they might rest
It's this last instance on which I want to focus.
And Jesus said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
~ Mark 6:31-32
A bit of background would help here. The disciples have just returned from an extensive ministry trip around Israel. Jesus has also just been informed that his cousin, John the Baptist, was murdered by Herod. So what does he say? "Let's get out of the hustle and bustle to be alone. You need to rest. I need to process and grieve."
This does not sound like a terrible place to be.
So why do we avoid desolate places? In part, we avoid them for the same reason they are good for us:
They are free of all distractions, and we are left to face the emptiness within
They are free of "spiritual highs," and we are left with our faith alone
They are free of busyness, and we are forced to rest
PAUSE and REFLECT: Do you avoid the desolate places in your journey? It would be a natural thing to do so. The key factor we often miss however, is that Jesus is waiting for us in those times of desolation. It can be difficult and barren, but sometimes just knowing he is sitting near us is a comfort. We are alone... with him. Almost every person in Scripture who saw God was in a desolate place at the time.
So go to a desolate place, with Jesus. See him, see yourself, nurture your faith, and rest.
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Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash