I’m sure that you like your “me time” when life centers around no one else but you, and that’s fair. In a 24 hour day, after we are busy satisfying everybody else, we need a little self-satisfaction too…even for a few minutes.
I’m definitely in favor of a little me time. Whatever you choose to do with your time is up to you; it’s your time. So, go to the spa, read a book, sip on a cup of your favorite beverage, have a sundae, catch a movie, hang out with friends, it’s your “me time.” There are so many gratifying things to do during your “me times,” but I have to let you know that solitude tops the list.
“Me times” are not necessarily times to be alone, nor are they lonely times; but choosing to use some of your “me times” to enter the quiet uninhabited room of solitude will enrich you with fortunes. In this vacant room, you welcome God in, and purposely shut the world out; that’s solitude. That kind of “me” time is worth having as often as you can. In that room, God will minister to and fellowship with you.
If there is one person who enjoyed His me times, it is Jesus. He made special effort to indulge in them. He took them to rest. He used them to sleep. He used them to eat. Most importantly, He used “me times” to getaway and enter the isolated room of solitude. Many of His “me times” were special times for He and His Father. Jesus was always ganged by a mob of needy people. They needed healing, they needed advise, they needed wealth, they needed love, they needed salvation, they needed kindness. Every day Jesus delivered, because He is the son of God, but also because in the quiet room of solitude, He was re-energized and recharged .
In this busy world, where life wheels us in a recurring routine of responsibilities, we have to purposefully pursue “me times.” Jesus was purposeful about His “me times” of solitude. He took them whenever He could: early morning before day break (Mark 1: 35) or late evening (Matt 14: 23). He took them wherever He could: up in the mountain, in the wilderness, on the isolated hillsides, or even out on the ocean.
Since Jesus was so purposeful about His “me times,” there has to be something special about them. His “me times” were not for self-gratification as most of ours are, they were for empowerment. Why? He made time to spend with His Father. If you want to get the most out of your “me times,” plan some time for solitude, not just time for self-gratification. If Jesus needed those times of solitude, we need them even more.
We know very well that rest and nutrition take care of our bodily needs. Solitude takes care of the mind and the spirit within us. After the many hands of life drag us about, we will be drained, demotivated, devastated and doomed if we don’t find time for solitude.
Here are the fortunes you will find in the power room of Solitude:
- It recharges us with more power to love unconditionally—our greatest call.
- It refills our hands with more kindness to share—our noblest deed.
- It reboots us when we are stuck in pride, then restores humility and surrender—our toughest task.
- It reloads us with forgiveness and salvation—our grandest gift.
- It rebuilds our faith and faithfulness—our highest goal.
- It redirects and leads us to purpose—our earnest duty.
Jesus loved hard, gave everything He possibly could, had immovable faith and the climax of his life was a significant statement of surrender. Moments of solitude equipped him with strength to keep going. So go ahead, take your “me times” you deserve them. But, if you are always using them to go the mall, to go the spa, to sprawl out in front of the television, to spend time in the bath room, you may not be doing yourself the world of good that your “me times” could.
I dare you to try some “me times” in solitude. Besides, fifteen minutes of “me time” in solitude and silence on your knees, is worth much more than an hour at the spa or in front of the television. But don’t take my word for it, the proof is in the pudding.
Luke 5: 16, “…Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.”
Finding Fortunes 