In my last blog, we talked about Jesus’ last retreat, and how it helped give Him the strength to continue in His calling. The Scripture I used came from Luke 22:43 & 44. However, the passage was Luke 22:39-46. As I read over it several times, there were a few words of one verse that stood out to me every time I read it. In verse 39 of chapter 22, it says, “And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.” The part of this that continued to stand out was “as was His custom”. When I read the entire passage, and saw that He was being strengthened during His time of need, it occurred to me that this was His custom, or it was a regular occurrence for Jesus to retreat and be strengthened.
So, my next question was, how often did Jesus get away, and if we are to follow His example, how often are we to get away? The answer surprised me. I’ve always heard and try to do a daily devotion. I can tell you that scripture tells us to pray continually. We see in scripture were Jesus retreats many different times to spend time with His Father. Even so, I never realized that scripture said this; more correctly, I never associated it with Jesus seeking time with and strengthening from His Father. However, when following the footnotes in my study bible, the first one lead me to Luke 21:37, “And every day He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.” Every day Jesus ministered, and every evening He retreated for time with His Father, and Strengthening from His father. . . I’ll ask the question again, and read the answer again. How often should we retreat? Every Evening.
This is our example that Jesus gave us. Forgiveness of sins is why Christ died for us. That forgiveness gives us access to and the ability to spend time with The Father. I believe this is why the curtain of the temple was torn (Luke 23:45). For today, I would like you to spend time with The Father. Schedule it if you have to. Get up a little earlier, or go to bed a little later. Find that quiet place you can retreat to, and simply spend time with God, for He is good. Thank you for taking time to read this, and as always – To GOD Be The Glory!