Solitary confinement is a prison term used to describe the practice of isolating the most violent offenders. The intent is to provide protection either for the prison guards, the inmate’s fellow prisoners, or the inmate, himself. The hope is to rehabilitate the inmate and return him to the general prison population.
God’s solitary confinement is very much the same. God uses his solitary confinement to isolate us from the world, provide protection for us, and return us, empowered, back into the world.
Jacob, in Genesis 32:24-31, spent the night in solitary confinement with God. His story teaches us five things about the time we spend in solitary confinement with God.
First, we find ourselves alone with God.
Jacob traveled with two wives and eleven sons. Yet God didn’t appear to him until he was completely alone.
We lead very busy lives, but it’s in those times when we put everything aside that we’ll find God’s presence.
Second, we become broken before the Father.
Jacob physically wrestled God for control until God touched his leg, weakening Jacob until he was forced to give in.
We can’t unlock our prison doors. Only when we give God the keys can he set us free.
Third, we make our demands of the Lord.
Jacob, now broken, refused to let go of God until he received his blessing.
When we put God in control, his heart becomes tender towards us, and he listens to our supplications.
Fourth, we face who we really are.
God, all-knowing and all-powerful, asked Jacob his name. Jacob had to admit who he really was, a simple man standing in the presence of the majestic Creator of the universe.
Our modern culture seeks to empower us, but before God, we are powerless. We must understand who we are in the eyes of the Father.
Fifth, we accept the new person God intends us to be.
Jacob received a new name, Israel, which means Prince of God, to signify his new relationship with the Father.
We become new creatures when we spend time with our Lord. We must cast our old man away, letting our new man step forth in victory.
When we spend time alone with God, people will see that we have become different through our relationship with the Father.
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