Time to Withdraw

Luke 5:16 So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

How many of us remember the WWJD craze? What Would Jesus Do? As I think back, I often found that we Christians would try to apply this, but mostly in response to how we treated other people, or responded to trials and persecution. The problem I found with WWJD was that most of the time we were trying to respond as Jesus would when situations caused us to have to respond, but often failed to do as Jesus did the rest of the time. In other words, WWJD became more of a defensive tactic, rather than a way to model how we live everyday life. In Luke 5, Jesus cleansed a leper, and as a result many sought Him in order to be healed. In the midst of the noise and busyness of His ministry, the Bible tells us that Jesus "often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed". How often do we take time to withdraw from our busy lives to just spend the necessary quiet time needed to develop our relationship with God? If Jesus, who is God Himself, took time to withdraw and be with the Father, why would we think that we can walk with the Lord and not need to do the same? If we truly want to do what Jesus would do, why not start with taking time, every day, on purpose, to withdraw from everyone and everything, and just have that quiet, intimate, time with the God of the universe, who desires to spend time with us?

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).