June 12: Insight Post by Karenna Rowenhorst
Friday Insight Post
by Karenna Rowenhorst
“Getting away from it all” is a vacationer’s dream that many of us have. We spend weeks and maybe months planning what we will do, or not do, when that time finally arrives. We can’t wait for time to rest and the lack of to-do lists and endless errands that make up life.
God desires rest for us, and He primarily desires us to rest in Him, which is a different kind of rest. Is solitude with God like a mini vacation we have access to every day? How do we look at the time we spend with God? We can call it many things: quiet time, prayer time, journaling time, or meditation time, and all these descriptions are helpful, but what do we do during these times? Do you have a short list of activities or ways that you can spend time with God? If taking time in solitude with God seems difficult, have we thought about the next step? What will we do when we take that time? Maybe thinking about the next step makes the first step easier.
Reading the verses from Habakkuk this week gave me some new insights into this time we spend with God. Habakkuk is one of the minor prophets, named “minor” not because their words are less important or impactful, but simply because the books are shorter. This is a good reminder that it doesn’t take a lot of words to communicate truth!
This book is a conversation between the prophet Habakkuk and God. Many prophets record their words to God and to the people, as well as God’s words to the prophet and to the people. But Habakkuk shares with us his cries to God and God’s response to him; that’s it. Just God and Habakkuk. To me, this feels like a moment between just the two of them. We may be reading the transcript of times of solitude between Habukkuk and God. The easiest lesson here is that we need time away to be able to hear from God. Solitude allows the dust of life to settle in our brains, so we can see things more clearly.
There is a verse in the middle of their conversation, where Habakkuk describes how he will wait expectantly to hear God’s reply:
“I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost.
There I will wait to see what the Lord says
and how he will answer my complaint.” Habakkuk 2:1 (NLT)
Habakkuk tells God he will wait. Notice that Habakkuk doesn’t wait for God in a “I’m going to retreat to the mountains” kind of way. He says he will be at the top of the watchtower, guarding his city. This sounds like work, not solitude and rest. So what kind of waiting and solitude is going on?
If I am at a watchtower, I am taking a deliberate step back from the on-the-ground interactions, which allows me to see a bigger picture. I can see what’s coming on the horizon, or outside the gates. But it also means that I am not removed from my life in an unrealistic way. I see the truth of the situation, and with God’s help I can see it more clearly.
If I am with God in my watchtower, I have more opportunity to see God’s goodness on display. Busyness tends to diminish our capacity to see the goodness and grace that God provides, and this reset shows us what we have been missing. This time means I can focus on the goodness around me that are truly gifts from God to each of us.
I’m hoping the imagery of a watchtower can help us as we enter times of solitude with God. Let’s use this as a tool to wait expectantly for God’s truth and goodness in the middle of our daily struggles.
Karenna Rowenhorst
Senior Director of Education
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org