Wanna Get Away?

 davidkanigan.com

“In the morning before the sun was up, Jesus went to a place where He could be alone. He prayed there. “ —Mark 1:35

There’s certainly something to be said about those wee hours of the day, when as Elizabeth Yates once wrote, “The silence is so intense that the striking of a distant clock comes into it like sounds from another world.” But if “morning” is the key word in this passage about daily communion, then a whole bunch of people are out of luck—people with young children, those who work third shift, and just about anyone who’s built in such a way that they don’t fire on all cylinders until at least after lunch.

Fortunately, there’s the rest of the story: Jesus also “went to a place where He could be alone” in the middle of the day (Matthew 14:23) and late at night (Luke 6:12). So, perhaps the more significant matter is not when we get away, but rather the vital importance of pursuing our daily nourishment of heavenly fellowship when there’s minimal distraction….

When the noise of life is turned down a few decibels. (Is it ever fully “off”?)

When people are few and far between

When there’s no tugging on garments for attention

When no interoffice messages are mandating you attend yet another meeting

When to-do lists aren’t screaming quite so loudly in our brains.

How good to know that the throne of grace is open 24/7, and that no matter which minimal-distraction hour works best, the same promise holds true: “He is a Rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.”