Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 27, 2020
After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. Matthew 14:23
A few months ago, I started regularly watching the news in the evenings. One morning not long after this nightly practice started, I woke feeling anxious and afraid. The noise of the world had stolen my peace and I needed to get it back. So, I stopped feasting on the evening news filled with fear, speculations, fighting, and meanness—and my peace returned.
The noise of the world isn’t only on the evening news. It’s everywhere: on social media, in movies, and in conversations with friends. It’s in the bookstore, the doctor’s office, and even at the gas station where there are now commercials at the pump.
The noise of the world can be crazy making if we let it. It’s always telling us so many different things. “Do this!” “Be that!” “Believe this!” “Stop that!” “Go here!” “Go there!” “Try this!” “Try that!”
The voices can make you feel like you’re not enough, like your life is not enough, and that you’re totally missing out if you don’t get that new thing on TV, have a better body, or own a mansion. The voices can make you afraid, angry, and anxious.
The world is a noisy lie-teller and if you don’t walk away from it now and then to catch a wave of peace, it will completely destroy your sense of wholeness and give you fear and anxiety in exchange.
In Scripture, Jesus showed us how to walk away from the world and take a time out to hear truth in the silence.
Mark 1:35 says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Jesus knew that the way to connect with His Father, the Source of truth, peace, and direction that He needed for His life, He had to get quiet.
Your quiet doesn’t have to be early in the morning in the dark. But it does need to be somewhere where you can be alone to hear God’s whispers. It’s not because He won’t love you if you don’t; it’s because you need the peace that only He can give—and He wants to give it to you.
If you feel fragmented, afraid, exhausted, or hopeless, it’s time to get alone in a solitary place. That may be your basement, back yard, or bathroom. It may be in the woods where you wander, or at the lake where you can sit quietly and listen to Him and talk to Him too.
It doesn’t have to be an hour or all afternoon. Just take a few minutes to be quiet. If it’s been awhile, make today the day. He’ll be glad you came, and you’ll be glad too!
“But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (Luke 5:16).
Prayer
Lord, I am thankful that you are always with me. Help me to take the time to listen for you and share with you. I love you. Amen.
Application
Set aside a few moments to sit and listen for His voice. Don’t read. Just listen.
Related Reading
Matthew 26:36; Luke 6:12; Hebrews 7:25
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If you feel fragmented, afraid, exhausted, or hopeless, it’s time to get alone in a solitary place. #WisdomHunters #skills #silence #Jesus
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