Retreating for the Purpose of Pursuit

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

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

The Difficult Times

de·vo·tion | Spring had come, and it was time to get out and start reducing my waist line so I could stop lying to my wife when I said, “No, my shorts fit perfectly fine, it is just a new fashion trend to keep my shorts unbuttoned.  You’ll see, everyone will be doing it, I am fashion forward!”  I was well on my way to digging myself out of that lie and running on the trails near my home every day.

 

One rainy morning, I had 100 yards left of my run, and I was going to sprint it.  I was huffing like a grizzly bear exercising after being aroused from hibernation, and then it happened.  I stepped on a root and my ankle twisted underneath my body, breaking and displacing my fibula bone.  Although painful, I was proud of myself for only howling like an injured animal, an injured baby animal, instead of breaking into what my wife calls “Wheels Off Joshua”.  “Wheels Off Joshua” comes out when trying to put up a 4 x 12 piece of Sheetrock on my basement ceiling all by myself, and not so pleasant words come out of my mouth (most of you know what I am talking about).  After breaking my ankle, I’ve found myself adding up all the painful things that were in front of me, surgery, doctors poking and prodding me, physical therapy and crawling up the stairs to take a one-legged shower (which is both painful and humiliating). It is hard to retreat with a broken ankle, but it is and will be necessary for me to do so in pursuit of the LORD.

re·treat | Luke 22:39,41 ³⁹ And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him…; ⁴¹ And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed.

pur·suit | In Luke, Jesus retreated for the purpose to commune with His Father; to plead with His Father and request for strength to bear the cup of the world's sins. In the end, it was the LORD’s Will that was done.  However, even the creator retreated to pursue His Father to prepare Himself to live through the painful events that He knew would be coming up to fulfill the Messianic prophecy and God’s Will to fulfill His covenant with all of His creation.

The Next Great Adventure

de·vo·tion | Life was going great.  The kids were manageable, family trips were fun, date nights were easy to come by, communication was easy, and then it happened.  My wife broached the subject one evening, and the conversation kind of went like this.

Laura | “You know, I was thinking, I am not done yet.”

Joshua | [I looked up at her] “Not done with what?”

Laura | [She twirled her fork in the spaghetti noodles] “I want another one.”

Joshua | [I picked up another piece of garlic bread, hoping that would solve her want, but just to clarify I asked] “Want another what?”

Laura | [Verbal Explosion] “I want another baby.”

Joshua | [I was wrong, the garlic toast did not appease her] “Ooooookay!?!?”

So, it started, the next adventure in our lives as we prepared to extend our family with one more member and start over with diapers, sleepless nights, baby sitters that wouldn’t cut it (no more date nights), and communicating in baby talk. I knew, in this new adventure I needed to pursue God as He was pursuing me.  The hardest part was finding the time to retreat for the purpose of pursuit, but man was it important to find that time.

re·treat | Mark 1:35 ³⁵ And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

pur·suit | Jesus had many adventures in His ministry, but we see an example here of Jesus retreating from the house early in the morning, and pursing His Father in prayer.

The Busy Life

de·vo·tion | 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.

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 | 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.

Are you at a stressful or painful point in your life right now? Do you find yourself at a place where you have a long painful road ahead of you or you are even on that painful road right now? Do you find yourself needing to retreat knowing that a great adventure is waiting for you? Do you find yourself needing to retreat from the Minnesota State Fair-esk daily grind?

• Retreat for the purpose of pursuing the LORD in your stressful and painful life. Let Him enable your strength and humble yourself to allow the LORD to carry you in this hard time 
• Retreat for the purpose of pursuing the LORD today and let Him be your Strong Tower as you continue on your next great adventure. 
• Retreat for the purpose of pursuing the LORD today, and in your daily grind, find peace, comfort and renewed purpose in Him.

prayer | LORD, there are many times that I just want to get away. I want to get away from it all. In those times of seclusion and retreat, I pray LORD that You meet me there. I know that I may not always be cognizant of asking you to be there, but I am asking You now, please be with me. It is in my act of retreating that I realize I need you the most. At a time when my head is clearing, and I am unloading all of the junk from my head, I need to seek You out to help me make it through whatever it is I am going to be stepping back into once I come back from my retreat. LORD, in the times of my retreat, let me not forget to retreat for purpose of pursuing You. Amen

Daily Alone Time with God |

Chapter of the Week | Proverbs 15

Mon·day | Psalm 62:5 ⁵ Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

Tues·day | Proverbs 11:25 ²⁵ A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Wednes·day | Matthew 11:28 ²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Thurs·day | Mark 6:31 ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

Fri·day | Psalm 55:22 ²² Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.