THE POWER of LONELY PLACES

 

JUNE 30, 2023


Luke 5:16

Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.


When Jesus began His earthly ministry, word quickly spread of His incredible miracles, and people began flocking to Him. Jesus would see people deep into the night- endless days that would leave Him, and the disciples worn-out. Even good solid ministry involvement can make us feel depleted.

Yet, we learn in today’s passage Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. He wasn’t available to all people, at all times, in all places. He limited the access people had to Him in order to stay connected to God, His Father.

This enabled Him to, despite the chaos and commotion around Him, remain at peace. He was as one author put it “unapologetically unhurried.”

The invitation to us yesterday from Jesus was “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.” Our reading above shows us two important things about Jesus that we need to put into practice if we want to live in that space of the unforced rhythms of grace:

We must spend daily alone time with God in His Word and in prayer.

We must implement healthy boundaries with the access others have to us.

I recognize that these are not easy practices to develop, it takes effort and discipline. There are so many distractions around us that can pull us away from the Jesus way. I just must tell you that the payoff for such effort is so, so, worth it. These practices result in peace of mind and develop our ability to eliminate the hurrying patterns that leave us drained.

REFLECT

What steps might you take to implement the two practices of Jesus in your own life?

Over the weekend take one of these steps and implement some "space for God".