"While it was still night, way before dawn, He got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed. Simon and those with him went looking for Him. They found Him and said, "Everybody's looking for you."
Mark 1
There will always be people demanding your time. Jesus constantly had people wanting to see Him. People wanting to be healed...people wanting to hear Him teach...people wanting to ask Him questions. Simon summed it up well in the verse above when he said, "Everybody's looking for you!"
I'm sure you can relate to those words. Phone calls...emails...texts...Facebook messages...Twitter...
people are always looking for you. But remember...
What you do when you are away from people is more important than what you do when you are with people. Jesus went away from people to spend time in prayer. Our public ministry with people must flow out of our private time with God.
Learn to say "no" to people. Jesus did not say "yes" to everyone. At times, He pulled away from people. Most of us in ministry are wired to be people pleasers. We hate to say "no." But we must learn to say "no" if we are going to be effective. We must set boundaries around our time with God...our family...our day off...our schedule.
Schedule regular time to be alone. Take control of your calendar. Block out times to be away from people. Block out time to pray...read God's Word...meditate...seek God's will...evaluate...dream for the future. Turn off the cell phone...shut down the computer...and just be alone with God.
Do you need to go into hiding this week?
Posted by Dale Hudson
