Come Apart
Luke 5:16, “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”
Matthew 14:23, “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”
It is obvious that Jesus often withdrew from the crowds and got alone with His Father. He used these times to pray, to refresh His soul, and to seek direction. What an example we would do well to follow. After Jesus got away from things, He would return with renewed power and begin to minister again. Jesus knew that fatigue could be costly, that’s why He taught His disciples the principle of periodic isolation (Mark 6:31).
God created the universe in six days and on the seventh day, He rested; He paused. Why is pushing the pause button so hard to do in our own lives? Why do we think we can have power with God without periods of isolation. The ministries of Moses, Paul, John the Baptist, John the Disciple, and the Apostles were intermingled with seasons of isolation. The most overwhelming outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament began with believers gathered in an upper room to pray and wait.
Life is demanding. Work is demanding. Raising children is demanding. Ministry is demanding. People are demanding. Success in anything demands our time, our energy, our focus, and a clear heart and clear head. We need power with God! We need His touch. We must learn to schedule time alone with God. It is the most overlooked secret to power with God. How can we hear the “still small voice” of God if our lives are filled with busyness and lived at a frantic pace? Now, more than ever we need quiet time, a quiet place and a quiet heart and mind to listen, to pray, to seek God’s face and His direction about the decisions we make. Learning to push the “pause button” is the seed-bed for power, peace, and the presence of God. “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Unless we build a regular quiet time into our busy schedules, we run the risk of physical, emotional, and spiritual overload – burnout!
How many people do you know who seem “stressed-out”? The truth is, God built into our mortal make-up the need for rest (sleep). None of us can go and go without sleep. Sleep is the body’s way of recharging. God made it so we would get tired physically and need sleep. In the spiritual realm, we must learn to pause, to still our minds and our heart so that God can do for us spiritually what sleep does for us physically.
It’s amazing – years ago churches would stop doing everything and hold revival meetings that would last for weeks (weeks – not days) and what was the result of those meetings? God would visit His people, unleash His power, and revive the church. Today – we can’t seem to slow down long enough to hold a 3-day meeting. Our lives are full throttle and the results are obvious: Nerve problems, heart problems, stress, problems in relationships, church strife (everybody is so key-up, super-sensitive, touchy, ill, emotionally and spiritually disoriented). We lose sight of our priorities.
A few years ago I read of a stunt pilot in an air show. He was flying upside down in a jet and he got confused. At a high rate of speed he pulled the flight stick in the wrong direction and crashed. There is danger for all of us to get disoriented if we don’t settle down and still ourselves before God. When we are disoriented we lose discernment. Our margin for error and mistakes is increased, we make bad decisions, and most of all we lose touch with God. His power in us is diminished. If we don’t voluntarily slow down – God can force us to do so. Psalm 23:2 says, “He maketh me to lie down…” God will use health problems, crisis, tragedy and failure to cause us to re-evaluate our priorities (Elijah and Jonah)
Are you calloused in your spiritual life, hardened in your heart toward the things of God? Maybe what you need is simple; some time alone with God. “Come apart” for a little while and you will find renewed power with God.
Pastor Bruce Freeman
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