“But He Himself withdrew [in retirement] to the wilderness (desert) and prayed. One of those days, as He was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the Law sitting by, who had come from every village and town of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was [present] with Him to heal them” (Luke 5:16-17 Amplified Version)
Have you guys seen the latest Superman movie? Did you see the part when he leaves the earth and flies into space, then just hangs there as he remembers what his gods told him. He also listens to see who needs his help?
Apparently he needed to get away from the busyness of the earth in order to be able to stop, focus, and regroup before he could come back to help us.
As I contemplated today’s scripture I thought about the movie and realized that even the world sees a need to get away so we can focus – You know, a little “R and R”.
Of course in this movie Superman didn’t acknowledge the Lord, but he was obedient to his gods and understood the need to really listen and to be able to focus.
Unfortunately, many Born-Again-Spirit-filled-Christians today live their lives busy doing good things for people as they try to serve the Lord. Family life, jobs, and ministries leave little time for them to get away. We feel an urgency to be there for everyone so we can’t say “no”.
The result is exhausting and frustrating to us and those around us because we lack the strength we need to do the work God gave us to begin with.
But notice how Jesus hid from the people who came to hear Him and to be healed by Him. He was the Son of God, anointed of by His Heavenly Father, yet even He understood the need to get away to hear from Him.
The Old Testament shows us that Moses also understood and practiced his own little “R and R”.
Read the following scripture and watch what happens: “Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the ‘tent of meeting.’ Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped each at the entrance to his tent.” (Exodus 33:7-11)
Now I have a question for you: If Moses took time away from the busyness of his life while others witnessed, if Jesus hid in the wilderness to pray even as others were disappointed at first, but later experienced the healing power of God, and if Jesus said we would do greater things than He, what makes us think we can do it all on our own?
We need to take time to get away with our Savior, replenish our spirit by giving our all to Him. He will give us not just the strength to do His will, but He will give us the wisdom, time, and love that we need to get the job done “His” way.
Oh Lord, forgive our self-righteousness and our pompous ways; thinking we can serve You on our own strength.
Help us to be more like Jesus Father; that we may take time each morning to bask in Your presence. To give You the First Fruit of our day. Help us see that without You we can do nothing.
Your Word says Your people suffer from lack of knowledge; help us learn Your Word and hide it in our hearts that we may not sin against You.
We are not superman Lord, we are children of the Most High God, and we know that He who began a good work in us, will bring it to completion in Christ Jesus. Amen.
May I encourage you my brothers and sisters, to do as the Lord told Jeremiah: – “Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.” (Jer. 33:3 The Message)
Nancy Reindl
nerck@sbcglobal.net