‘Going Off-Grid with God’ – does this title conjure the scene of taking a spiritual retreat in a hut surrounded by bush, with nothing but a torch and an esky? While it’s not quite the point I’m making, it does describe how this story began for me. My adventurous husband, 4-year-old and I moved to a remote property with a dream for better health and self-sustainability.
We lived ‘off-grid’ in the typical sense: no power grid access was available, so we started with car batteries and a gas fridge. We were ‘off-grid’ in other ways too: no mains water meant pumping from the river to a tank and an outdoor tap; no septic system meant a good ole drop dunny. Some of our relatives called us ‘pioneers with internet’ because the only amenity we did have was a phone line with dial-up.
We got to work, upgrading all these systems for ourselves. And at the same time, God started working on going off-grid with me.
We had come from a large church family with programs for everyone – a blessing in so many ways! But I had become reliant on others to provide for my spiritual needs. I was used to Sunday feasts of spiritual food (teaching, fellowship & correction), with top-ups during the week. So when I found myself a 40 minute drive away from the nearest Sunday service with a small church where ours was the only family with kids – well, I took a spiritual dive.
Slowly God showed me that my connection with him was not reliant on others or being part of a lively church. I didn’t need a pastor to feed me spiritually – I have the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to teach me and correct me. And fellowship with Him is enough when human connections are lacking.
And just like every other form of being off-grid we experienced, the responsibility was now on me to maintain and improve it. While we invested time pumping water or spent money on better solar batteries, I needed to invest in my direct connection with God. It meant regular commitments of time in prayer and the Word – eg. I developed a prayer & podcast walking routine. When I struggled I didn’t call my pastor or another spiritual guide, I learned to go straight to my Bible and prayer journal and ‘have it out’ with God directly. 15 years later we were set up with solar power, indoor plumbing and a composting toilet. And I had became spiritually healthier and stronger than I had ever been.
Since that season of being ‘pioneers with internet’, God has led our family to serve in a number of mainstream churches and ministries. During those times I would sometimes find myself relapsing into dependence on a spiritual mentor for my spiritual strength. God has gently reminded me that my strength is in my off-grid connection with Him.
Now that my family is in an ‘off-grid’ home church (with no denominational oversight or designated pastor), I find that an off-grid connection with God is not only shared by others in the group, it is encouraged as we gather around to pray and read the Word together. We are not reliant on one person to meet everyone else’s spiritual needs; we are feeding together directly on the Holy Spirit’s teaching and correction.
Going off-grid with God is more than a one-off retreat. It is an on-going practice, requiring you to invest yourself in your direct connection with God. And I highly recommend it! You will be spiritually stronger and healthier than you have ever been.
Von Dubbeld
Oikos National Team
