But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. -Luke 5:16
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. -Matthew 6:6
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. -Mark 1:35
Jesus regularly took time away. He would escape from the crowds. He would seek time with His Father. So why, if we’re supposed to be like Christ, is it so hard for us to step away from all the demands we place on ourselves? Just like a plant that stays out in the sun and only receives dribbles of water, once a week, we will dry up and will bear no spiritual fruit.
This involves ministry work. Whatever it may be. Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you” Mark 14:7. Do not stretch yourselves to the point where it is the weak trying to care for the weak. How can you take care of others if you yourself are sick? We have a common saying among our family, “if you don’t rest then God will make you rest.” And what most often happens is we become sick in bed for a couple days. Forcing others to stop and take care of us because we didn’t acknowledge Yahweh’s command to us. What we think is a good thing ends up being damaging.
Sometimes, we just need to step away. We need to feed our souls. Our starving souls. Our ignored souls.
Mamas, this message is for you, but it’s also for your husbands. They work very hard to provide for the family. Sometimes a little too hard. They, too, need to have private time with the Lord. And yes, even our children need time. That is one thing I sadly admit that I’ve passed over. I make up our daily schedule and I almost always forget to add private time for the children. They need time to turn their minds off from the to-dos just like we do. Instead we should be training them, by example, to set aside time with the Lord regularly.
I remember, years ago, I called a friend and her husband answered. He told me, “she’s praying right now can she call you back?” Can I just say what a beautiful impression that left on me?
When was the last time you fed your soul? When was the last time you turned off Facebook? Turned off your phone? Said no to an invitation? Are you afraid the world will stop turning if you don’t respond to so-and-so immediately? This world, it revolves around Christ not you.
We were given a Sabbath for a reason. We need to rest. It is not selfish for you to step away from others. It is selfish for others to think that you should be at their beck and call.
My sister, let it go. Let go of the demands of this world. Let go of what is not yours in the first place. Seek rest in your Savior. He is the only One who can quench your thirst. Rehydrate yourself in His living waters.
Blessings!
