Listen to the audio version of this post here.
Are you currently in a stage of life where you seem to feel alone? You can never reach anyone when you contact them? You feel forgotten? You've come down with a sudden illness? You've been told you have to be on bed rest? You lost your job and can't find another? etc etc. Then you're most likely in a season of isolation.
A season of isolation is a type of trial God puts you in when you need time to refocus. God has used a season of isolation many times in the Bible. In the book of Genesis, Joseph was in this season for years. He was sold into slavery by his own family, he was unfairly imprisoned, and he was forgotten by people he'd helped.
Seasons of isolation can seem like a punishment, because your access is being cut off to the things you are used to or even care alot about. God will strip you down to bare necessities, because he needs your attention. Your access to certain people will be denied, you may lose access to your job. God is cutting off the distractions so he can have your attention. There is something he is trying to do in your life, that can't be fulfilled because you are too distracted. He has to fix your perspective and re-shift your focus. Sometimes you know what that things is, because it's something you've been avoiding. Sometimes you don't know what it is, but in this case God will reveal it to you.
A blessing always comes out of a season of isolation. When you're ready you will reemerge as a better version of yourself. You will have clarity and peace and know what you have to do next. God will set you up to promote you. His blessing will help you to progress faster because you've been waiting for so long. At the end of Joseph's trial, everything God had promised to him was fulfilled. He became 2nd in command over all of Egypt just like God showed him in a dream he had as a teenager.
The key to passing a season of isolation trial is to lean completely on God. Be attentive when he brings things to your attention and be open in your mind and heart to receive what he is saying. Be obedient by being ready to act when he gives you instruction. Be a blessing to someone else by helping with an issue, encouraging them, doing something nice for them just because, or just making things easier for them. Lastly, stay close to God's living word in the Bible and promises he made to you. The Bible is a book full of wisdom, guidance, and encouragement; and God is faithful. If he made a promise to you, it will surely come to pass.
A Prayer for Seasons of Isolation
"Thank you God that you are always with me and that you have my best interest at heart. I am grateful that you love me enough to prepare me for something before you give it to me. I am grateful for your protection of things both seen and unseen at this time. I am grateful for a God that has great plans to prosper me and give me a future. I am grateful that you want to be close to me, that you are concerned with what concerns me, and that the moment I pray you have an answer and or solution for that prayer. I pray for strength to endure this trial with a good attitude, I pray to have peace that surpasses all understanding, I pray to have the joy of the lord, I pray and I believe that because you are a good God this is a temporary phase of my life and that I will emerge from it a better version of myself. I believe that what you said will truly come to pass. In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen."