Islands

If I were to ask you for the first word that comes to your mind when I say the word “island”, what would it be? In fact, what was the word, or maybe image, that just popped into your head when you read that sentence? I would guess that a large number of you came up with words like, “desert” or “deserted”, or maybe “tropical” or “beach”. While there are no doubt many other words and images that could have popped up, isn’t it interesting that a couple of the most common are, in many ways, opposites of each other? This is exactly what we’re going to look at for the next few minutes – how sometimes the island is a place of beauty, lush growth, and excitement. But other times it is a place of desolation and despair.

Not long ago, during a somewhat heavy conversation with my wife, I made the comment, “I feel like I’m on an island sometimes.” Now, we were discussing some weighty things going on in our lives and we were sharing ways we could help each other. (Brief marriage tip here – you can never spend enough time talking with your spouse about the heavy things in life.) As soon as I said it, it made me think. Why do I feel that way? And if I am on an (albeit metaphorical) island at times, who puts me there? Like happens so often, the simple question turns into a prayer, which leads to self-reflection, which leads to more prayer, which (hopefully) leads to revelation. What follows is the revelation that I received about this whole island thing.

It begins with the difference between isolation and being set-apart.

Let’s start with isolation. To be isolated has the connotation of being alone or separated from other human contact. Carrying it a bit further, that contact could be physical or emotional. This is the deserted island that we think of – or find ourselves on. It is a tool of the enemy to be divisive. Paul references this is Galatians 5:19-21 when he says, “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.”

Notice that Paul says these are “works of the flesh”. Whose flesh? Well, our own flesh. And there’s the rub. When we end up on that island of isolation – that emotionally or physically contact-less place – we have put ourselves there. We are allowing ourselves not to be influenced by the Holy Spirit, but rather by our flesh, which is ruled by the prince of this world, the devil.

Now let’s talk about being set-apart. To be set-apart has a different kind of connotation. It rings of being “placed” by someone in into separate place. And in this context, the one that is doing the setting apart, is God. David acknowledges this in Psalm 4:3, “But know that the Lord set apart the godly for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.”

There are actually two ways you could be set apart. First, you could live a life of being different from everyone else, as one “called according to His purpose” as Paul states in Romans 8:28. I often refer to this idea of “being different” as “living in the tail.” (I (rather unsuccessfully) tried to provide a short explanation of this but, suffice to say it harkens back to my mathematical background.)

Sometimes, though, there will be a season of being set-apart. In the beginning of Luke Chapter 9, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples with the power and authority, “to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal”. When they returned, I’m sure there was quite the debriefing with Jesus concerning what they learned. And this is the key to this kind of being set apart – this idea of learning a specific lesson, or being taught something very specific by God. There are times where we need to get alone – preferably with Him – to listen more clearly or process more thoroughly, that which He is trying to teach us or imprint on our hearts.

This little revelation is still relatively fresh in my own spirit, so I still need to do some processing. Even as I write this, I am on the island He has placed me on, with just Him, my Bible, and this keyboard. This is an island I don’t mind being on. Growth happens here.

So, to wrap this up, I leave this with you...

The next time you find yourself on an island, ask yourself how you got there? Did you do it? Or did God? And if you did it, step away from your flesh and move toward Him. Call a faith-filled friend. Open your Bible. Talk to your Father (otherwise known as praying.) At a minimum, you’ll realize you aren’t really alone after all.

Be blessed my friends.