The Ministry of Aloneness
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
The Revelation 1:9
The Apostle John entered into the ministry of alone-ness more than once in his life. At the Last Supper he leaned his head against the chest of Christ, being alone together with Him in the midst of others. He stood with Mary alone from among the apostles at the foot of the cross, when all others had run away. Early in his ministry he lost his brother James to martyrdom, also an apostle and one with whom he had followed John the Baptist as well as Jesus of Nazareth, facing a sudden absence in his companions of faith. One of the pains we experience in life in the loss of family and friends is the loss of common and shared memory, and John became accustomed in the early stages of his service of standing alone for Christ.
Isolation will either destroy us or it will be God’s tool to make us. In this passage above we find the aged apostle is now exiled, isolated, and it was possibly an attempt to drive him mad by the authorities, and discredit him and his ministry and the Messiah he proclaimed. “See what your religion does to people!” could then be the somewhat credible claim by the persecutors, similar to what was said to Paul, “Your great learning has driven you insane” (Acts 26:24).
But the Lord ministers to our hearts when we are alone and these moments can become precious, comforting, character building, transformational, and peaceful. We have a heavenly Father with whom we must never fear to be alone. We have a Savior who “sups” with those who hear His call and open the door. What the authorities thought would destroy John became God’s tool to inspire Him and enlighten us of the end times. The New Testament book we call “The Revelation” was written against the backdrop of persecution, of a world confident they could destroy the Christian faith, that they could discredit those who serve. In his aloneness God found him, and He can find us as well in our aloneness. The ministry of aloneness uses the opportunities of isolation to go to God in prayer and in fellowship. Have others rejected you? Have others found no use for you? Are you less busy than you want to be for God? Before when you were busy you found no time for Him, now you have time! Use this time to be with Him.
Alone-ness must never become aloofness, trying to be above others in arrogance, choosing isolation for pride’s sake, refusing to love for Christ’s sake. John found no genius in himself during this time. He discovered no secret cache within his own heart that was his alone that made him special. He as an individual could be crushed just like anyone else. The secret to his life was the presence and life of Christ. John stood steadfast despite the persecution because Christ stood within him. As he had leaned his head against the chest of Christ at the Supper, as he had stood alone at the foot of the cross with His mother, so he continued to lean upon Christ, to trust and commune with Him, to hear His Spirit’s voice, to worship and surrender his heart to Christ — these he continued to do and his prison became a place of praise, his isolation became an experience deeper than any he had had.
Has the Lord found you alone yet? Has He visited you in your isolation and become the Friend who sticks closer than a brother? Has he become the bright light in your dark cell? Has He lifted you out of your despair by His gentle hand of love? The ministry of aloneness allows Christ to minister deeply within our soul, and these moments deepen us and prepare us for what He has. The greater the challenges that await us, the greater He desires to use us, the greater our need will be to be alone with Him.
