Withdraw from the Rat Race

The pressures and the needs will always be there but if we address them from a place of refreshment then we have a greater capacity to deal with the situation.

Matthew 14.13-21

Reference:  v.13 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. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  Gossip magazines make their money from intruding on people’s private lives.  In a recent magazine I saw pictures of Jennifer Anniston and John Mayer being intimate in a pool.  These photos were so pixilated that it was clear they were taken from a very long way away, possibly another State by the look of how fuzzy they were!  But you don’t have to be famous to have your time interupted or intruded upon.  There are always people who need to ask you this, or want to spend time with you on that, and while we are all born to be in community I think it’s also important to have time alone too.
When Jesus heard the news that John the Baptist had been beheaded by Herod, he took some time out in a boat.  It says that he ‘withdrew’.  We all need time to withdraw from the rat race occasionally and deal with our emotions, stress and exhaustion.  By the time Jesus had landed the boat he was in a healthier place and had a better capacity to serve than if he had have just continued on.

Application:  How are your emotional/exhaustion levels?  Everyone has different pressures in their life.  Whether it’s family, work, school or personal issues, we all need time to be refreshed and refocussed.  No one else can make you have time off, it is a personal decision.  The pressures and the needs will always be there but if we address them from a place of refreshment then we have a greater capacity to deal with the situation.  After Jesus had ‘withdrawn’ from the crowds he came back and fed over 5000 people.  We may not perform such a miracle as this but we will have more compassion and understanding when we come from a place of refreshment.

Prayer:  Lord, so often I get totally focused on the here and now and don’t see the bigger picture.  Help me to see that if I am not healthy then I will struggle to help others.  Amen.

Matthew