Solitude

It's a busy world! We live very busy lives. The demands of work, family and everything else takes more than we have to give. It's an understatement to say that we are busy people.

But when I watch Jesus I see a man with just a few years to accomplish so much. People pressing on him all the time. Disciples to train, sick people to heal, teaching that needs to be done and the ever present demand for this miracle or that need nearly every day. How did Jesus cope with all of the pressure he endured? What is his model for us?

Matthew 14:13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.

Matthew 14:23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,

With all the demands of his life Jesus found time for solitude. Time with his Father. Time alone. Time to be quiet. Time to rest. Throughout the gospel records we see him seeking time alone with his Father often. There are times when he forces the disciples to go with him to get away from the crowds and the chaos. Solitude, time with God, time to be quiet is necessary if he was to deal with all that was facing him.

A solitude is the audience-chamber of God. -Walter Savage Landor

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Time for quiet moments, a time to be still gives us the opportunity to listen to God, to rest our minds and bodies, to quiet all the craziness and din of the world. It's a necessary part of a walk with God. I think that's why the enemy tries to keep us so busy. If we can believe that busy lives are more productive then we will rarely give time to solitude. And yet Jesus sought it often. He would frequently escape to the desert to pray, to talk to God, to rest.

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If the son of God needed it how much more do we?

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