Mayre Lou and I watched a replay last night of our pastor's sermon from Sunday. We had been on the road on that day, coming back from Blacksburg, and missed church completely. One of the points that he stressed was the need for a break from the routine daily affairs of life, a time to contemplate life, not just try to survive it.
The Scripture from Matthew 4 this morning was the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, right after the baptism by John the Baptist. The Bible says He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and for 40 days he fasted. After that comes the 3 temptations by Satan, but I was drawn to the fact that Jesus was led into the wilderness, a place of little or no distractions, and there to prepare for His ministry that was to follow.
I have found over the past months, that the days I take the time to set aside my daily activities seem to go a little better than when I rush around. It is true that I have the time to do all of that since my calendar and schedule is usually pretty clear and I do have a lot of discretionary time, but I think the principle is still the same for all of us. It becomes a matter of priority and what I see as important.
David, my pastor, also mentioned three times that would help in keeping my focus on the right actions and motives in my life. He put it this way:
Divert Daily...even if it is for only 15 minutes or so
Withdraw Weekly...even if it is only the hour on Sunday morning, truly withdraw
Abandon Annually...get away from everything for a period of time
If Jesus needed the 40 days to prepare for His life and ministry, how much more do I need it? Maybe not the 40 days all at one time, but at least the time to seek God and His will for my life, that day, that week, that year, or that coming lifetime.
Praying, seeking, listening and maybe even fasting, can I follow this example of a Life in tune with the Will of God?
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