Front Cover, Back Cover, And Spine Artwork:

Book Description: This book is a discovery of the active states of abiding in Solitude and abiding in Obscurity before the Living God. What is contained within these pages is the product of a pondering and prayerful exploration of both Solitude And Obscurity.

This book is part 1 of “The Three-Sided Coin” mini-series within The Book Of Benjamin Kareth book series. This is denoted by the A1 on the cover and spine.

A Glimpse Inside:

Chapter 3: I See You

I saw you as you slept,

And I waited,

I watched your eyes flutter as you woke,

And I waited,

You stretched and yawned,

And I drew closer,

You rose and began your day,

And I waited,

You drank your coffee, and you checked your sites,

And I waited,

I watched you as you walked through the door and off to work you went,

And I waited,

You called a friend as your drove,

And I waited,

I listened as you shared your life with them,

And I waited,

You laughed together,

And I was glad to see you smile,

And I waited,

I put my arms around you,

I protected you,

And waited,

Your day went on,

In every moment I was there,

My love surrounded you,

In a million ways I spoke,

But you didn’t hear, nor look up,

And I waited,

Your day ended,

It was so full,

And I waited,

You began to wind down.

Returned home,

Dinner, TV, and all the things,

And I waited,

You glanced at my book once,

But you chose other things,

Then time was gone,

The day had ended,

You curled up,

You slept,

I wrapped my arms around you,

Held you close as you slept,

And I waited,

Surely tomorrow you’d see me,

As I see you.

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Chapter 4: The Seed Of Solitude

Solitude is a seed. It is a living plant that is planted as a seed, and it grows up and matures and bears fruit day after day. As a seed it must be watered every single day. It is an active state, a current state, and a vital state.

Ever since I was a boy, I have been drawn away to be alone, not by any desire to be alone or away from people, but a sense that it was vitally important somehow.

There is a home video that my dad filmed on a camera when I was a kid and I still remember it vividly. In the video my dad, two brothers, and a sister that were alive at the time are with me. We are at a children’s park somewhere in Dallas or Austin. Dad is filming my brothers and sisters playing on the play land structures and slides… but I am nowhere to be seen. Suddenly you can hear my dad say, “Where is Benjamin?” And he swirls the camera round and round and finds me off in the distance by a tree. I am hitting the tree with a stick, lost in my own world and imagination.

When I was 15 or 16 years old, I went on a mission trip with my dad to India. During that trip God gave me a song. I wrote it down and have sung it many times over the years:

——

Come away, oh come away with me,

Come away, oh come away with me,

Would you call me Father?

Would you call me friend?

Would you call me faithful, faithful to the end?

——

And the song repeats. It is the song God sang to me when I asked Him for a song. It is a call to come away and be alone with Him. It is a call to enter the state of Solitude.

Solitude is not something I enjoyed at all in the beginning, but as time has passed, I have learned it is vital part of a deep and abiding relationship with God. In fact, you cannot have a relationship with God without Solitude.

Solitude has been the birthing place of all that God has done in me these past four and half years. It is the birthplace of this book series. It was in Solitude that God laid out the vision for each book.

Solitude is, as defined by Webster:

1. the state or situation of being alone.

2. a lonely or uninhabited place.

3. the quality or state of being alone or remote from society.

Solitude is vital and so important in a deep, abiding relationship with God on this earth amid our frantic modern lives.

Meditate on this verse for a moment:

“God is spirit [the Source of life, yet invisible to mankind], and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”” – John 4:24 AMP

Jesus said those Words.

And consider:

“But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6 AMP

I trust that as we walk through this journey of the discovery of Solitude And Obscurity that God will open your eyes. I trust that He will teach you how Solitude And Obscurity are both to become an active, daily part of your own journey with Him.

You are unique and God has a specific plan and purpose for your life.

Do you have a family?

Friends?

Church?

House church?

A busy job?

God has called all of us to go into the closet and shut the door to the world and pray (spend time with Him).

Consider Jesus’ command to us:

“But WHEN you pray, go into your most private room, close the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees [what is done] in secret will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6 AMP

I can only share what God has shown me personally about Solitude and ask that you prayerfully consider how to enter Solitude in your own journey.

As I am writing this, I sense from the Lord that there is someone specific that this book is being written for, perhaps that one, is you?

So, this is an encouragement and a hope for you who’s reading or listening to this longing for a deeper relationship with God here on this earth and in eternity to come.

This book is for you!

This is my personal definition of Solitude:

Solitude is a state of being that fully acknowledges God’s existence and fully draws near to Him by leaving what is visible and entering and engaging with what is not visible.

God told me recently and I share it here again:

“The produce of Solitude feeds the entire world.”

I am not going to break down these words of His for you but simply present them to you as they were spoken to me.

For each of us Solitude looks different. It will always be us alone and away from other people. That won’t change. But what Solitude looks like in your life will be different than what it looks like in mine.

For me it seems the Lord has called me to an abiding Solitude for this specific season of my life.

For you it may be an hour in the mornings or perhaps an hour in the evenings. Or it may be on your lunch break at work. Or it may be in the car as you drive somewhere.

In whatever place and for however long you are alone with God then you are in the state of Solitude.

I pray that God plants a seed in you and that it grows up and into maturity for both the deep understanding and daily practice of Solitude.

——

Steps

I stand on the banks,

Of the future,

The banks of the past,

The banks of the present,

And there in front of me is You.

You are beside me,

To my left, and I turn,

And you are to my right,

Behind me, I hear your whisper,

Walk,

You say,

And so,

I take another step.

And as I step, you step.

And as you step, I step.

And there is so much joy in the steps,

And my heart is glad,

Because you go with me,

Into waters deep,

And futures unknown to me,

but known by You.

I’ll take each step with you.

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Audio Book:

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Behind The Pages Video:

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