When God gets us alone—isolating us through sickness, heartbreak, or disappointment, through affliction, temptation, or unrequited love—when he gets us totally alone and we are so bewildered that we cannot ask him even one question, this is when he begins to teach us.
Most of the time, we are not alone with God in this way: it’s why he must produce a crisis. We spend our lives distracted by fussy little worries about our work or our health or what other people are doing. Jesus can explain nothing to us until we learn to quiet our minds and leave others alone. If I am walking with him, the only thing he intends me to see clearly is how he is dealing with my soul. We think we understand other people’s situations; then God shows us our own hearts, and we see that there are whole regions of stubbornness and ignorance inside us that we cannot access on our own. Only the Holy Spirit can reach these places.
If God has gotten you alone right now, if you are feeling isolated and bewildered, turn to the Spirit he has placed inside. It is the fine art of the Holy Spirit to be alone with God; it is a purpose of the Holy Spirit to guide and instruct: “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things” (John 14:26). Remember that God has not left you alone; he has gotten you alone with him. Go with God to a quiet place, and his Spirit will teach you all you need to know.
