Retreating for the Purpose of Pursuit Part 1

Part 1 | The Busy Life

re·treat /rəˈtrēt/ | The act of withdrawing, as into safety or privacy; retirement; seclusion.

pur·suit /pərˈso͞ot/ | The action of following or pursuing someone or something.

re·treat | Luke 5:16 16But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray & Mark 6:46 46And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray

pur·suit | To commune with His Father and escape the fame and pressure that was starting to surround Him

I hate the Minnesota State Fair!  Wait, that was not really a Minnesota Nice way of stating my opinion about “The Great Minnesota Get Together”.  Ok, let me try this again. I do not enjoy excessive heat, I do not enjoy excessive amounts of people, and I do not enjoy walking all day long in the aforementioned things.  We also spend all our time herding three kids that want to actually lose themselves and apologizing to every person that we bump into with our stroller, which seems to include everything from our house besides the kitchen sink.  So, nope, I was right, I hate the Minnesota State Fair. I spend all day there only to find by the time I get home, I am tired, irritable, and bloated from all the food.

I imagine as Jesus Christ became more “famous” and the crowds that followed became larger, and the daily grind of walking everywhere in the heat, he experienced a mini-Minnesota State Fair episode, which at times probably left him tired, irritable, and...bloated?  Well, probably not bloated, but the daily grind of his ministry, all the people pressing to see the main attraction, and not to mention His disciples continuously saying, “I don’t understand, can you explain that story to me again?”, and Jesus saying, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you?  How long am I to bear with you…?”

Although frustrated, tired, and irritable, Jesus knew to retreat from the circumstance and pursue His Father in prayer, because that is where He found peace, comfort and purpose in His crazy daily life.

Do you find yourself needing to retreat from the Minnesota State Fair-esk daily grind?  Spend some time today emulating the character of our Savior.  Retreat for the purpose of pursuing the LORD today in the activities that you partake in, and in your daily grind, find peace, comfort and renewed purpose in Him.