As always, God's lessons to us are so timely, so powerful, so right. One of those lessons for me this week came out of Matthew 14:13-14. "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."
What stood out to me was the fact that Jesus' time of solitude may have been shorter than he had hoped for. Perhaps he wanted to land that boat and rest for a while. Or perhaps he had other desires for when he reached land. (Perhaps he thought the baby was going to take a longer nap and He was going to get a little more time with His Father...You get my point! ha ha) But the Word says that he saw the large crowd, had compassion on them, and healed their sick. There are two things that struck me. First, the time that Jesus did get alone was enough. Perhaps he prayed to the Father the whole time. Perhaps he cried. Perhaps he just chilled a bit. Perhaps he did a little of all three. However Jesus spent that time, he was refreshed and prepared for what the Father had prepared for Him on land. Secondly, I was struck by the fact that Jesus probably KNEW there would be people waiting for Him. (Hello, He is JESUS!) But he still took the little bit of time that he had to get away with His Father.
The lesson for me? Take the time I can get with the Father, whenever & wherever I can get. Even if I think Nathaniel is going to wake up early - take the time I can get. Even if there is just 10 minutes left on the wash cycle - take the time I can get. Even if I know that I might fall asleep while reading or praying - take the time I can get with the Father. He knows my heart. He knows this stage of my life. If I give Him the first of my everything, if I get in the boat for a little while even though it might not be for as long as I would like, He will prepare me for what awaits on land.
The following verse was printed on the bottom of the page in my journal on the day I was journaling about this lesson, and, for me, it was the exclamation point.
2 Corinthians 9:8 "God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
Thank you, Lord.
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3 comments:
Yes... Moms of little kids fall asleep alot on their Bibles & journals... but I'm pretty sure that our Heavenly Daddy smiles to see our love for Him and dedication to spending time with Him.
Love you!
Great blog, Lana. As always, very well written! Cool way to keep up to date with you guys. Say "hi" to Brian for me!
Hi. I stumbled upon your site from Netta's blog. Just wanted to say that this post really helped me. I have 2 small children & it really is about just having to find time "here & there" sometimes to spend with God. Thank you for the encouragement!
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