“As we arrive at Reflection Week in our Solitude Practice, I want to share a quote from Trevor Hudson, spiritual formation pastor, Fuller Seminary professor, and author:
“We don’t change from our experience,
we change when we reflect on our experience.”
Reflection is a vital part of a purposeful, Spirit-led life. It honors our Creator, who made us in His image as free-willed people—capable of choosing, growing, and aligning our lives with Him.
When we acknowledge that we are not perfect—that we are sinners, no better than anyone else, still works in progress—we open ourselves to the opportunity for real growth. We begin to learn from both the joys and struggles of our journey, and we continually choose to walk more closely with Jesus.
This is how God designed us:
To wrestle honestly with life’s highs and lows.
To reflect deeply on where we are and where we are going.
To surrender fully so that transformation can take place.
Our human nature tends to seek comfort, control, and self-interest. We want to fit God into our lives on our terms. But the Spirit calls us to something much deeper—what Jesus describes in Matthew 16:24, NIV:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
The Apostle Paul affirms this in Romans 8:12, NIV:
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.”
Reflection is one of the Spirit’s pathways—a means by which we fulfill that obligation and resist the pull of the flesh. And the most fertile ground for that reflection?
Solitude.
In the quiet, away from the noise of the world, we gain the clarity to reflect, to hear, and to respond to God’s invitation to deeper formation.
So this week, I invite you to pause, reflect, and ask:
What has the Spirit been revealing to you through Solitude?
Where are you being invited to surrender more fully?
What advice would you give yourself five weeks ago when embarking upon this practice?
Let the quiet become your classroom. Let reflection become your act of worship.”