Solitude – Rehab for the Heart

Two men break their ankles, and both are told that they will never walk the same again. 

Man #1 decides not to listen to the report; he’s going to rehab. Rehab is hard and painful. Why is it so painful? Rehab starts by having the ankle in a cast or splint, isolating and immobilizing the joint. 

When someone has a limb in a cast, they may experience physical limitations that restrict their ability to engage in social activities or events they would typically enjoy. This physical restriction can lead to feelings of isolation or loneliness.

Recovery can be isolating. The individual might spend more time at home or alone, focusing on their healing process.

What is rehab?

It is a slow process of healing stages. Each phase is slow and painful, but the ankle strengthens as Man#1 completes each phase. Eventually, his ankle is healed, and he runs and jumps without losing a stride. Why? Because he dared to endure the pain of recovery, which included isolation and a disruption to his everyday routine.

Man #2 chooses to believe the report that “it will never be the same” and doesn’t bother to rehab his ankle. He is discouraged at the thought of the extensive recovery time, isolation, and break in his life routine. His ankle will heal, but it will heal with a lifelong limp. 

Both men in this example were healed, but only one was completely healed and made whole again. This is the lesson in relationship rebounds vs. taking time to heal and embracing a period of solitude. 

I was always afraid to be alone. I sought after relationships, often ones that weren’t good for me, just not to be alone. The thought of being lonely haunted me. God showed me during these alone times that my reliance on others was to shift to dependence on Him exclusively. I was trying to fill my “God” void with people. This would always leave me disappointed when the relationship failed. I was looking for love and acceptance from sources that were not God.

Thank you, God, for loving me unconditionally, and thank you, Lord, for accepting me. Thank you, Lord, for your word that says,” Come as you are.”

Solitude is time alone with God with no distractions. We hear his voice, allowing his grace and love to minister to our hearts, providing revelations and healing. Yes, we are” by ourselves,” but we’re not alone, as God is right there with us.

Loneliness is a lie. It’s a word the enemy uses to make us feel alone on an island. It is isolating, defeating, and implies loss.

After a relationship ends, we often feel this way.

Try changing your perspective today and thinking of your time alone as Solitude with God. Quiet yourself, breathe deeply, and listen. God is speaking to you today. He’s telling you that you have His approval, that you are loved, and that you were predestined for greatness before the foundations of the earth. Your healing has already begun. And you will be made whole again. Your “new you” will not depend on others for love and companionship. You will be like a tree planted by the river.

Psalms 1 NIV  tells us:

“1Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,

2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. 

3That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.”