"Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, "Everyone is looking for you." Mark 1:35-37
Do you ever have times in your life when you feel like everyone is demanding a piece of you, looking for you everywhere, armed with all their "urgent" requests? What do you do when this happens? I try to find a place where no one will look for me and I turn off my phone for a few minutes of peace and quiet.
Jesus didn't have iPhones, tablets, or email to keep a demand on His time but He did have very similar moments through His ministry. There were times when He realized that is was time for Him to get away to be by Himself. There were times when He no doubt spent time talking with His Father in Heaven about what He was going through and facing at that given moment. There were times that He simply just wanted to put His feet up, slow down, and think on what was coming next.
I like to think that being human as well as God, just went off to take a nap. With the amount of walking He was doing, He had to deal with being tired and just needing to rest. I also like to think that when He rested the thoughts of His ministry weren't far from His thoughts. Maybe He thought of the next day's plans, what He needed to accomplish next, and perhaps He asked for guidance from His Heavenly Father on exactly how to go about it.
I try to follow Christ's example everyday but this idea of stopping what I am doing and getting alone with the Father is something I struggle with. For me it's not part of my DNA. It is certainly not something that the society we live in embraces. It would most likely label me as a recluse or that I am displaying "anti-social" behavior. Instead of pulling away, getting rest, and taking some time, I listen to what society says and charge on, full steam ahead. Makes for a very tired, worn out, and irritable man.
I know that this is hard to do but I realize that I NEED to find time in my day to get alone with God and just be in His presence. We all NEED this. Maybe your time is early in the morning before the day gets started and the pressures start to build or maybe it's late in the night when the world around you is asleep and you are alone in the quiet of the night. We all NEED to spend time alone with the God that created each one of us. We all NEED to find the time to put up our feet and think...
God desperately wants there to be times when we simply escape to Him, alone, and recharge. His ultimate desire is to be with us and help us to slow down and seek Him and His will. It gives each of us a chance to just hang out, put up our feet, and unburden ourselves with the stresses that we each carry.
All it takes is a couple of minutes a day then before you know it you will be looking forward to spending minutes and hours in His presence.
Do you ever have times in your life when you feel like everyone is demanding a piece of you, looking for you everywhere, armed with all their "urgent" requests? What do you do when this happens? I try to find a place where no one will look for me and I turn off my phone for a few minutes of peace and quiet.
Jesus didn't have iPhones, tablets, or email to keep a demand on His time but He did have very similar moments through His ministry. There were times when He realized that is was time for Him to get away to be by Himself. There were times when He no doubt spent time talking with His Father in Heaven about what He was going through and facing at that given moment. There were times that He simply just wanted to put His feet up, slow down, and think on what was coming next.
I like to think that being human as well as God, just went off to take a nap. With the amount of walking He was doing, He had to deal with being tired and just needing to rest. I also like to think that when He rested the thoughts of His ministry weren't far from His thoughts. Maybe He thought of the next day's plans, what He needed to accomplish next, and perhaps He asked for guidance from His Heavenly Father on exactly how to go about it.
I try to follow Christ's example everyday but this idea of stopping what I am doing and getting alone with the Father is something I struggle with. For me it's not part of my DNA. It is certainly not something that the society we live in embraces. It would most likely label me as a recluse or that I am displaying "anti-social" behavior. Instead of pulling away, getting rest, and taking some time, I listen to what society says and charge on, full steam ahead. Makes for a very tired, worn out, and irritable man.
I know that this is hard to do but I realize that I NEED to find time in my day to get alone with God and just be in His presence. We all NEED this. Maybe your time is early in the morning before the day gets started and the pressures start to build or maybe it's late in the night when the world around you is asleep and you are alone in the quiet of the night. We all NEED to spend time alone with the God that created each one of us. We all NEED to find the time to put up our feet and think...
God desperately wants there to be times when we simply escape to Him, alone, and recharge. His ultimate desire is to be with us and help us to slow down and seek Him and His will. It gives each of us a chance to just hang out, put up our feet, and unburden ourselves with the stresses that we each carry.
All it takes is a couple of minutes a day then before you know it you will be looking forward to spending minutes and hours in His presence.
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