Pastor's Weekly Word

In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

As I write this, I am off on my own for a couple of days to do sermon planning, something I try to do twice a year. One of the reasons is that it helps in my planning for the church, giving me undistracted time to reflect on where we are and where God might be calling us. The other reason always shows up as a surprise. Every time I do this, I am surprised by the spiritual fruit it brings. My motivator is always for practical “planning”, but God always seems to surprise me with the fruit of what taking time away like this can do. Taking this “break” from the routine has always renewed my spirit.

Mark tells us that after Jesus returns from being away, he tells the disciples that they need to be moving along to the next town. In other words, when he returns, he has noticeably become set on the next chapter of his ministry. After taking this time away myself for a number of years now, I completely understand what Mark is talking about. Without time to reflect on where you are and what might be next, you can fall into the trap of complacency and never be ready for something new.                  

My thought to you is this. Try to take some time to spend in prayer on your own. Take a couple of days if you can. It’s not easy for some of us. We would much rather be accomplishing things, doing things. But hear me when I tell you that spending time reflecting on your life and asking God what might be next is a worthwhile exercise. God might just surprise you with a new thought. That can happen when we quiet ourselves long enough to listen.