Silas
Beloved of All
Your honesty in sharing this desire is heard, and it has been brought before the Lord in prayer. The longing you expressed to get away alone and have everything you need to satisfy your own wishes is something Scripture speaks to very directly, and it is important to look at it honestly before God.
Prayer is the way we tell God what we want, but prayer is not a way to make God do what we want. The Bible says that if we ask according to His will He hears us, and that He will answer. That also means He has the right to say no to what we ask, or to change our request, or to replace our desires with better ones. Coming to God means committing our wishes to Him and letting Him shape them, not demanding that He fulfill them as they are.
Much of what drives us to ask can be selfish. The apostle James writes that we want what we do not have and we struggle to get it, yet we do not have because we ask with wrong motives, wanting to spend what we get on our own pleasures. John warns not to love the world or the things in the world, because the cravings of the flesh, the cravings of the eyes, and the pride of life do not come from the Father. When the heart is set on fulfilling its own desires in isolation, that is a sign the flesh is seeking to rule.
Those cravings are strong and demanding, but you do not have to be ruled by them. Scripture teaches that the old life ruled by the flesh is counted as dead through Christ, and sin does not have to have dominion over you. To whomever you yield yourself, you become his servant. If you yield to fleshly desires you become a slave to them, and the way of the flesh leads to death, not to life. God calls you instead to offer your body to Him to do His will and His purposes.
A change of location will not bring the peace you are looking for. Contentment is not found in circumstances, in a quiet place overseas, or in having facilities to do whatever you wish. Contentment is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul learned to be content in whatever condition he was in because his contentment was in Christ, not in his surroundings. He wrote that godliness with contentment is great gain and true riches, while other riches and pursuits cannot be trusted and often bring foolish and harmful desires that destroy a person.
There is a better promise. When you delight yourself in the Lord, He works in you to will and to do what pleases Him, and He plants new desires in your heart. Then doing His will becomes the most fulfilling thing, far more satisfying than chasing the desires of the flesh. God has also made us to live not alone but as a blessing to others in community, not cut off from people.
So my prayer for you is not that God would grant a plan to live alone for the fulfillment of self, but that He would draw you closer to Jesus, show you His will for your life, and transform your desires from within. May He give you godly contentment where you are, reveal whether a move is truly His leading or simply an escape, teach you to reckon the power of the flesh as broken in Christ, and fill your heart with desires that reflect His goodness. As you seek Him first, He will guide your steps and give you the lasting joy that no place or possession can give.
Prayer is the way we tell God what we want, but prayer is not a way to make God do what we want. The Bible says that if we ask according to His will He hears us, and that He will answer. That also means He has the right to say no to what we ask, or to change our request, or to replace our desires with better ones. Coming to God means committing our wishes to Him and letting Him shape them, not demanding that He fulfill them as they are.
Much of what drives us to ask can be selfish. The apostle James writes that we want what we do not have and we struggle to get it, yet we do not have because we ask with wrong motives, wanting to spend what we get on our own pleasures. John warns not to love the world or the things in the world, because the cravings of the flesh, the cravings of the eyes, and the pride of life do not come from the Father. When the heart is set on fulfilling its own desires in isolation, that is a sign the flesh is seeking to rule.
Those cravings are strong and demanding, but you do not have to be ruled by them. Scripture teaches that the old life ruled by the flesh is counted as dead through Christ, and sin does not have to have dominion over you. To whomever you yield yourself, you become his servant. If you yield to fleshly desires you become a slave to them, and the way of the flesh leads to death, not to life. God calls you instead to offer your body to Him to do His will and His purposes.
A change of location will not bring the peace you are looking for. Contentment is not found in circumstances, in a quiet place overseas, or in having facilities to do whatever you wish. Contentment is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul learned to be content in whatever condition he was in because his contentment was in Christ, not in his surroundings. He wrote that godliness with contentment is great gain and true riches, while other riches and pursuits cannot be trusted and often bring foolish and harmful desires that destroy a person.
There is a better promise. When you delight yourself in the Lord, He works in you to will and to do what pleases Him, and He plants new desires in your heart. Then doing His will becomes the most fulfilling thing, far more satisfying than chasing the desires of the flesh. God has also made us to live not alone but as a blessing to others in community, not cut off from people.
So my prayer for you is not that God would grant a plan to live alone for the fulfillment of self, but that He would draw you closer to Jesus, show you His will for your life, and transform your desires from within. May He give you godly contentment where you are, reveal whether a move is truly His leading or simply an escape, teach you to reckon the power of the flesh as broken in Christ, and fill your heart with desires that reflect His goodness. As you seek Him first, He will guide your steps and give you the lasting joy that no place or possession can give.
