Spending Time with God

Hello, friend. Welcome to today's encouragement from the Our Daily Bread devotional family. The devotional for today was written by John Blaise, and he's titled it, Spending Time with God.

A River Runs Through It is Norman MacLean's masterful story of two boys growing up in western Montana with their father, a Presbyterian minister. On Sunday mornings, Norman and his brother Paul went to church where they heard their father preach. Once Sunday evening rolled around, there was another service, and their father would preach again. But between those two services, they were free to walk the hills and streams with him while he unwound between services. It was an intentional withdrawing on their father's part to restore his soul and be filled again to overflowing for the evening sermon. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is seen teaching multitudes on hillsides and cities and healing the sick and diseased who were brought to him. All this interaction was in line with the Son of Man's mission to seek and to save the lost.

But it's also noted that he often withdrew to lonely places. His time there was spent communing with the Father, being renewed and restored to step back once more into his mission. In our faithful efforts to serve, it's good for us to remember that Jesus often withdrew. If this practice was important for Jesus, how much more so for us?

May we regularly spend time with our Father, who can fill us again to overflowing. This is today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading. It's taken from Luke, chapter 5, verses 12 through 16. While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.

I am willing, he said, be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, Don't tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing as a testimony to them.

Yet the news about him spread all the more so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Now let's pray. Heavenly Father, it's easy for us to get caught up in doing more and more and never take a step back to simply be with you and to listen for you to speak. Would you remind us to be like your son Jesus, to regularly pull back from all we're doing, to pray and to listen. Lord, please renew our hearts and minds and refresh our passion for you as we do pray. Thank you, Lord Jesus. It's in your name that we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.