15 But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. Luke 5:15-16 (NLT)
This passage is such a great reminder for me. Jesus had launched his ministry, He was making a difference, He had a mission, and still he took time to get away and pray. Jesus understood His need to continually communicate and spend time with his Father. His closest followers just wanted Him to press on and do more, heal more people, establish His Kingdom. That desire sounds familiar. Sounds like me every fall when I have all of these great plans and ideas and I want those plans and ideas to WORK. My passion for my ideas and overcome my passion to know, love, and serve Christ. I have to remember in the middle of going after the mission God has given me I have to stop, slow down, and know that God cares way more about advancing His Kingdom than I do. God is at work…we (our lives, our ministries, our everything) are just one small part of what He is doing. I love to plan, dream, and create but in the end I need God’s hand to move in my heart, family, and ministry more than anything else.
In the middle of our desire to create environments, accomplish our goals, reach people for Christ we have to take time to simply rest and be fully present with God. God cares way more about reaching students than any of us ever will. Jesus…that was His idea. The Church…His idea also. New life…yep you guessed it His idea. Your ministry…God gets the credit also. Striving on your own just leads to worry and fear. Take some time…get alone with God and start serving in and through his strength.