A Day Away...

I just got back from a day-long retreat with the local Sarver-Saxonburg Ministerium.  It was great!  One of the common themes of the day was that it's HARD to take the time daily to get alone with God for an hour, and weekly or monthly for a more extended time.  Why?  For the same reason that it's hard for everyone--time doesn't grow on trees, and there are always 100 things crying out for our attention.  Even pastors and other church workers struggle with putting God first on our calendars, because so many other people and circumstances press in on us.  I was reminded throughout the day of Jesus' response to such pressure.  After his first full day of ministry --calling 4 disciples, preaching in the synagogue, healing dozens of people and casting demons out of many more, Jesus called it day.  (What a day!)  The next morning He got up before daylight, and went off by Himself to pray.  When the disciples got up they started looking for Jesus.  After a while they found Him and said, "Jesus everybody is looking for you!" (No joke.  He had started quite a ministry the day before.) They could have gone back into Capernaum, started a capital campaign and had quite a ministry.  But Jesus said, "Let's go someplace else, and preach the Good News.  That's why I came!"  Jesus didn't get distracted by all the competing cries for His time, His skills, His life.  He had invested the first and best part of His day with His heavenly Father, so He was clear on what He was AND what He was NOT supposed to do.  What would our days look like if we did that, too?  (See Mark chapter 1 for the full account.)

Comments

[Al]

Glad you were able to get away. Spending time with the Father is so precious.
This time will pay rich dividends in your ministry!