When was the last time you unplugged from your regular life and took refuge in the rhythms and rest of God? I highly recommend it.
It isn't always easy to find ways to do this, but the effort is absolutely worth it.
I have had the great joy (and challenge) of being unplugged from my normal life for the past week.
It started with a literal unplugging. I attended a retreat in Colorado where I was strongly encouraged to turn off my phone for four days. No news. No social media. No college football scores (on a big game weekend, too). For the most part no communication with family or friends. Very little connection with the regular parts of my world.
It opened up space in my soul for worship and communion with God. I was surrounded by 400 strangers—all women who were similarly unplugging and attending to the claims of God upon our souls. It was glorious.
In the days following the retreat I traveled to be alone for a couple more days in the mountains of Colorado. I’ve tried to maintain as much of that “unplugged” status as possible. I’ve called family. I’ve used my map app to help me get around in unfamiliar places.
But I’ve tried to be very careful about how I engage the habits of my “regular” life. These are habits I sometimes thoughtlessly enter into, getting pulled along by the crowd or by the loudest voices around me. They are habits, I am discovering, that eat at the wholeness of my soul.
Being largely unplugged and on retreat has given me the opportunity to form new habits—ones that are centered in life in God. More lingering time in prayer. More worship music in the background. More long walks in nature to just let my soul unwind.
For the past week, the loudest voices I have been hearing are the voices of praise and worship, the words of Scripture, the voice of the splendor of God’s creation, and the voice of God Himself. What bliss.
I read these words this morning in The Message translation of the Bible:
“All the popular gods are stuff and nonsense, but God made the cosmos. Splendor and majesty flow out of him, strength and joy fill his place.” I Chronicles 16:26-27
My goodness how deeply they resonate with my soul after just a few days of being “unplugged.”
I recognize that I have had a great privilege of retreat in this past week. I know that is not always feasible for everyone. I had to be intentional about pursuing this open door God gave me.
Here’s good news. You don’t have to go on the road or to a retreat to unplug and get into His presence. You can go outside and spend an hour in His creation almost any day of the week. You can put your phone in a drawer or on airplane mode at any time of your choosing. You can play worship music in your home, workspace, car at any time. The Holy Spirit is available for conversation and fellowship with you at any time.
Reorienting ourselves to God and His glory is really a choice. No one made me turn off my phone at that retreat. I could have completely done what I wanted. There weren’t retreat police. But I took the challenge to try being fully unplugged and unburdened by my “regular” life—just for a few days.
I am so grateful for the gifts of this time of rest and refreshing in Him. May the Holy Spirit guide you in choosing rest and refreshing in your own life. He is worth our adoration.