WEDNESDAY WEEKLY WORD...a personal retreat

On several occasions, Jesus withdrew from the crowd, retreating from the busyness of life. Scripture depicts Jesus retreating after long, busy days. He knew the value of time alone to regroup, rethink, reevaluate and to refuel. One thing I have noticed about the times that Jesus got away to spend some solitude with His Father is that following His retreat time, powerful and miraculous things happened...He walked on water, calmed the storm, healed a paralytic to mention a few.

I wish I could have some power and miracles happen in my life. The problem may very well be that I just don't spend enough time in the mountains. A personal retreat can give a whole new look at life and a renewing of our spirit. The problem with taking a spiritual retreat is the same problem we run up against when trying to schedule a very badly needed vacation ... there is no time!

In last weeks YOUR OPINION MATTERS POLL, I polled the readers the following question, "If you could go on a retreat, who would you take with you?" The top 3 responses were:

1. 27% voted and said they would take their spouse.
2. Another 27% said that they would take their mom.
3. 18% responded and said that they would go alone.

Interesting thing about this poll, when taking a retreat, often times we think of getting away with someone we want to spend time with instead of getting away with God. Are we simply too busy for a retreat with God?

While the temptation is there to get more time in our day by cutting out God's share, it is not suggested. The more time we need to stretch into a day is the very moment that we need to realize that we need to spend more time with God. I love what Martin Luther said about this...

"I have so much to do (today) that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer."

Jesus lived this. Spending more time with God His Father sustained Him and gave Him clear direction.

Do you ever feel like other people decide on how you spend your time? Your boss, your kids, your spouse. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our daily schedules that we forget that all of these activities that we become consumed with are simply our choice to make. It is a conscious decision that we make to do all that we do, it is also a conscious decision that we make when we do not take time to sit at the feet of Jesus.

When is the last time that you took a personal retreat with God? It may be time to clear the calendar and schedule one.