Some
times you just have to get away! You need to take care of business
when its needed but sometimes you need to get away from the crowds
and find a place to spend time with just you and God.
Now
Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, “I have compassion
on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days
and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry,
lest they fain on the way.”
Then
His disciples said to Him,”Where could we get enough bread in the
wilderness to fill such a great multitude?” Jesus said to them,
“How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few
fish.” So He commanded the multitude to sit on the ground. And he
took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and
gave them to
His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. So they all ate and were filled and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were filled. Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And He sent away the multitude and got into the boat, and came to the region of Magadala. Matthew 15: 32-39
Now
after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led
them up on a high mountain by themselves;
and
He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His
clothes became as white as the light. Matthew
17:1-2
Jesus
went away from the crowds a few times but it seems that the people
always managed to find him.
At
one time He used it for His glory by feeding the mass of people with
loaves and fish. Yet another time He sent the disciples away on a
boat while he went off on his own time alone; a moment of faith we
read about when Peter ended up walking on water. He was alone when
the Satan tried to tempt him; well pretty much alone for God is not
really ever alone. The man in him took time alone with God. He spent
time talking to the Father God about his crucifixion with three near
but a stones throw away.
When
is the last time that you had time alone with God and His Word?
This
weekend I was blessed with the joining a massive multitude of women
at a Women of Faith conference. The time with God was awesome, the
Word was awesome the speakers were awesome; and because of one of the
speakers I hear the word as I type it, 'awesome' in an Australian
accent. Lives were changed, mine included; we learned to be alone
with God in an open Colosseum of thousands of women. We learned how
God is there for us in all that we walk through and that He is in the
Word that we read; for some ladies this was a new concept, others
knew it but did not walk in it until this weekend. Over all it was a
wonderful get away from the daily grind and spend time with Him and
His disciples.
God
is good, no, great! He helped some of us to realize that we need to
get away from everything and everyone in our normal day to day
'stuff' and let it go while we go off and get fed. I felt like one of
Jesus' Apostles as we sat at His feet and heard Him speak through
these great women and a couple men, of God.
As
we headed back home we came with equipment needed to make the life we
went back to work for the glory of God. One women gave us a glass of
water, a couple gave us songs to sing, and a couple others gave an
outlook on life that made us appreciate it when we went home to messy
houses or crazy piles of work on our desks.
It
is good to get away at times, and good things can come from it;
gratitude, encouragement, strength, fellowship, adoration for the
Lord, peace for tomorrow and in the midst of trials and a closeness
to the Lord that only comes when you get away from what you are used
to doing and spend personal time with him.
A
few things that you can do to get away with Him are;
- create a space in your life for Christ; your room, your bathroom or shower, your car when no one else is there can all be a place that you can meet with him; just not while you are driving!
- Create a time in your life for Christ; it takes effort to plan ahead and give up the time you would put your self in an attitude of prayer and listening; read the Word and glean from it!
- Created a mind set that will bring you back to the fact that you need to spend time with Him alone.
- Bring your Bible with you where you go and take advantage of an empty office at lunch, or a bench in the hall way by the elevator. Dig in and enjoy, talk to Him and read His Word!
Once
you are there you need to;
kneel and pray
- wait and listen
- read and write
Praying
is more focused when you can kneel physically,but if you can't then
kneel with your heart and bow your self to the Lord.
Waiting
on the Lord Wait on the Lord be of good courage and He will
strengthen your heart; wait I say on the Lord. Psalm 27:14. Wait to
hear from Him in your heart, mind and soul.
Reading
the Words of God's leaders and scribes is important to our spiritual
growth with Him, writing it down brings it back to remembrance when
we read it again. It gives us a chance to put things in our own words
that help us, with the Holy Spirit's work through us to be able to
understand it just that much more.
Dear
Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us a chance to spend time with
you today and every day. Help us to find a weekend, or a week or a
day that we can really truly get away with you and relish in your
goodness. In Jesus name Amen.
Suggested
Reading: Matthew 15:1-39 , 1 Corinthians 2:1-16, Psalm 27:1-14 ,
Mark 2:1-27