42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
It was not unusual for Jesus to go off to a solitary place to pray and meet with His Father. We are also told of this in Mark: 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 (NIV)
How very important this is for us too! We meet with our Lord alone in the early hours of the morning to commune with Him. To be able to “visit” with the Most High God is indeed an honor and a privilege that we do not want to miss! Through prayer and the reading of Scripture, we learn to “grow up” in Him who is Head over all. With the Holy Spirit’s illuminating power, the Word comes to light and we are enabled to take the Truths gleaned and apply them to our lives. We become a changed people – more and more conformed to the image of Christ. This is exactly what Scripture is referring to in Romans: 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:29 (NIV)
I can tell you from experience, whenever you determine to have a “quiet time” alone with the Lord – the people come looking for you! Distractions abound because Satan does not like believers in God’s Word! Period! He goes to great lengths to prevent our success in this matter. And not only Satan, but our flesh does a pretty good job on us too! The promise of Scripture is that if we resist the devil he will flee from us – the flesh, on the other hand, is a constant battle! The important thing here is to just persevere. I love this quote by Woodrow Wilson: “I am sorry for the men who do not read the Bible every day. I wonder why they deprive themselves of the strength and of the pleasure.” I fully believe if you make this a discipline in your life, it will soon become a desire! Once filled with the strength that comes from being in His Word, we are able to stand our ground against the schemes of Satan and his distractions that keep us from God’s best for our lives. In the above verses the people were unwittingly trying to prevent Jesus from persevering in God’s will. They were holding firmly onto Him to keep Him with them. Oftentimes in life, distractions from others may seem like the correct choice. The option looks viable and good to the senses (much like the apple!). Yet it is oftentimes the good that is the robber of the best. The center of God’s will is exactly where we want to be (whether we realize it or not) – it is good, pleasing and perfect but NOT without difficulties! Some of the hardest things in my life have happened in the VERY center of God’s will! But like Paul says in II Corinthians 1:9 - “This happened so that I might not rely on myself but on God.” By equipping ourselves through His Word, when the storms do come or where there are decisions in our lives to be made, we are prevented from making poor choices that would cause us to go down wrong paths. The promise of Scripture is crystal clear in this:
Jesus knew His purpose here on earth. He had come to do the Father’s will. That too should be our battle cry!