While he was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. And he charged him to tell no one, but “go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
Luke 5:12-16
Are you busy? You’re probably busy, so I’ll keep this short and get straight to the point: the busier you are the more crucial it is that you set aside time to withdraw, be with God, and rest.
To put it another way – if your schedule is absolutely packed today and you have a to-do list that seems impossibly long, it’s absolutely essential that you start your day with peace, rest, and prayer. I know the excuses well, but they’re all just that, excuses. And they are excuses that, if we allow them to prevent us from taking that crucial time to connect with our creator and sustainer, will prevent us from being capable of living in the peace, joy, hope, and purpose that we were created for.
Jesus in chaos
If you’re like me you probably picture Jesus as having this leisurely life, strolling from one town to the next casually healing people, sitting on hillsides peacefully discussing the Kingdom of God, and lovingly, slowly smiling at those around him.
There may have been idyllic moments like that in Jesus’ ministry, but to think that that was the norm is simply naive. Over and over throughout the Gospels it’s made clear that Jesus’ life and ministry was chaos. He was absolutely swamped with highly demanding people. Literal crowds of them, to the point where he has to get into a boat and go out on the water lest the crowd push him into the lake. To the point where he and his disciples didn’t even have time to eat.
Luke 5 summarizes Jesus’ experience of life this way: “now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” A several chapters later Luke writes that, “so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another” (12:1).
You might be busy. Very busy. But my guess is that none of us are surrounded by crowds so chaotic and so ferociously demanding of our attention that they’re trampling one another to get near us.
Peace in chaos
Note how Jesus responds to the fact that great crowds of people are demanding his attention in Luke 5: He withdraws to pray. He makes space for quiet, peace, and rest with the Father.
These aren’t small needs that he’s dealing with. These are people literally dying, literally tormented by demons, literally sleeping on the ground outside the houses where he’s staying, waiting for him to bless and heal and speak to them. Yet he withdraws. He makes space for rest. He prioritizes his connection with the Father higher than the demands of the crowds.
We’ve got something to learn from Jesus here. I doubt if any of us have crowds waiting outside our front doors for us to heal them, yet far too often let the pressures of our relatively calm lives overwhelm us and override prioritizing connection with the Father.
Peace in your life
Does your life feel crazy? Are you overwhelmed? If you’re a disciple of Jesus your response to it all must be like his; stop buying the lie that if you work a little later tonight you’ll catch up; that if you try a little harder you’ll succeed; that if you just get the kitchen clean you’ll be at peace and feel fulfilled; that if you get that workout in you’ll feel better.
What your soul actually needs is rest – to withdraw and pray. To be with Jesus and the Father and the Spirit, sheltered from the chaos for a time.
You’re probably busy and have skimmed the rest of this article since you’ve got something else important to do, so I’ll repeat the main point: the busier you are the more crucial it is that you set aside time to withdraw, be with God, and rest.
If Jesus needed it, you do to.
So, how and when are you going to rest today? Make it happen.
I Like that saying of Martin Luther, when he says, “I have so much business to do to-day, that I shall not be able to get through it with less than three hours’ prayer.” Now, most people would say, “I have so much business to do to-day, that I have only three minutes for prayer; I cannot afford the time.” But Luther thought that the more he had to do, the more he must pray, or else he could not get through it. That is a blessed kind of logic: may we understand it! “Praying and provender hinder no man’s journey.” If we have to stop and pray, it is no more hindrance than when the rider has to stop at the farrier’s to have his horse’s shoe fastened; for if he went on without attending to that it may be that ere long he would come to a stop of a far more serious kind.
C. H. Spurgeon.
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