More so than any other point in my life, I enjoy being alone. But there’s a world of difference between solitude and isolation.
It can be easy to miss the difference, but the difference night and day.
Solitude is good. It recharges the soul. It offers time for reflection, for prayer. And even when you’re alone, if you’re experiencing solitude, you are still connected. Solitude connects you to God, to yourself, and prepare you to be connected to others.
Isolation, on the other hand, is never replenishing. It can feel like solitude in the sense that you are alone, but isolation doesn’t connect you to anyone. Isolation does what the word suggests – it cuts you off, from God, from others, and sometimes even from yourself.
Solitude is a gift from God, but isolation is a tool of the enemy – a punishment. If you think about the way we humans punish offenders, one of the worst forms of incarceration we have is solitary confinement. It’s pure isolation.
We all need breaks. We all need time away. But when you get away, seek solitude. God uses it in powerful ways. But never mistake it for isolation. One gives life. The other steals it.
The question to ask, of course, is in your alone time, are you in solitude or in isolation?
