The Value of Retreat

Dear Trekker,

Recently I “checked out” with two close buddies and went on a retreat. Gee, it was fulfilling. We “got away” from the routine of daily performance, rested, ate well, played golf, encouraged each other with honest thoughts and were challenged by other new and old friends. I do hope you know and have experienced a retreat… a “gut check on life”, trekker.

Since then I have been thanking the Lifegiver for those four incredible, fulfilling days and meditating on the value of retreat. In my past soldier’s life, retreat was to withdraw from enemy territory, or when defeat by a superior force was imminent. Oddly, that definition could be an apt description of a “spiritual retreat”.

For me, to retreat is to absent myself temporarily from the difficulties or dangers of life in order to return refreshed, renewed, reinvigorated to overcome once again the enemy of the best. When we trek through life, we crave periodic pauses of refreshment. (Coca-Cola has made millions on that reality!) Then, we re-enter the battle!

Retreat in Scripture? Yes! Jesus retreated to a mountain top with the three – Peter, James, and John. We refer to it as the “transfiguration”, but it was a retreat, pure and simple, beginning with a steep climb. Often it takes considerable effort to get to a retreat site, but it is worth it. We may see God in a new light as did Peter; God gets our attention and we “listen to Him”. We learn, are changed and descend back into the populated valley. Read the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 17:1-3.

Interestingly, this trek up the “mount of transfiguration” followed a heavy, emotional time for Jesus and His disciples. He had just announced to them he was going to Jerusalem to die! When Peter objected, Jesus challenged them, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it” (Matthew 16: 24, 25).

Often we too find our life again, or for the first time, on a retreat. Recently I spoke with a dear friend about the Tres Dias movement. It is one of many movements today emphasizing the value of retreat. Many attest to the life-changing experience of “a walk to Emmaus” and other such affirming adventures. Be assured… without retreat, over time, we all bleed at the core.

Trekker, nothing has been more valuable in my life over the years than retreat… alone, some with others, silent, prayer and meditation retreats, couples’ retreats, family retreats, team-building retreats. Retreats come in every color and hue of the rainbow, all for the purpose of a new birth of freedom and fellowship, creating fortitude and faith for the trek of life.

A retreat may be sitting at Jesus’ feet over an extended period of time, as did Mary! A retreat is a rendezvous with God, a time set aside simply to be with Him. It is not an opportunity to cram a series of missed quiet times into one weekend. But if we have been feeling distant from God and overwhelmed by the cares of the world, we may see a retreat as a time to get reacquainted with our Savior and Lifegiver, Jesus.

Trekker, here are a few key factors in a retreat, whether a group or individual:

• Some terrific alone time… e.g. a walk on the beach, a trek up the mountain, an extended, cloistered worship, a long reading and reflection period, etc. Your imagination and spirit of awe will lead you!
• Some intensive time in the Holy Scriptures… reading, reflecting, perhaps memorizing certain biblical thoughts and verses. These should be uninterrupted times.
• Sufficient quiet, meditative prayer. So-called “centering prayer” on Jesus alone, on a phrase such as “He cares for you”, can lead to a peace that passes all understanding.
• Some quilt-free rests, yes, even a nap or two are in order

One of my favorite authors, the late A.W. Tozer, a frequent speaker at the Wheaton College chapel in my student days, writes on the value of a retreat in “The Pursuit of God”. (A good book for your library, by the way.) “It is important that we get still to wait on God. And it is best that we get alone, purposely with our Bible outspread before us. Then, if we will, we may draw near to God and begin to hear Him speak to us in our hearts. I think for the average person the progression will be something like this: First, a sound as if a presence walking in a garden. Then a voice, more intelligible, but still far from clear. Then the happy moment when the Spirit begins to illuminate the Scriptures, and that which had been only a sound, or at best a voice, now becomes an intelligible word, warm, intimate and clear as the word of a dear friend. There will come life and light and best of all, ability to see and rest in and embrace Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and All.”

Trekker, take a little effort to step out of the hurly-burly of day-to-day living. You will never regret the investment. An investment it is, with untold dividends. All that “grips” before retreat, loses its influence for the day or weekend. One returns rested, with a new fresh perspective, great discernment for determining God priorities for life, and the strength and encouragement to follow through with convictions and commitments. The prophet Isaiah says it well, “in retiring and rest you shall be saved. Quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”

Trekker, build the principle of retreat into your life and the lives of your loved ones. Your commitment will not go unrewarded for you will be enabled to climb ever higher and higher.

Make a retreat, trekker!

Your friend,

Jim Meredith