http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2014:23&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2030:15&version=NIV1984
Coming apart. We’ve all heard the phrase before. Depending upon the circumstances, it can refer to many different things. Such as an article of clothing. When the stitching starts to unravel, it begins to come apart. Slowly at first. Until it gets to the point where it is unmendable. Then there are vehicles. Who in their lifetime hasn’t driven one that started coming apart? The CD player stopped working. The rear view mirror fell off. The bumper was attached by duct tape. Trim magically disappeared from the exterior. A door handle came completely off. Yes, those were the days!
Of course, ‘coming apart’ isn’t just related to objects. People ‘come apart’ too. This could involve a slow, steady decline. Such as a person who is caught in an addiction. Little by little, their lives spiral downward. Late for work. Or missing entire days. A traffic ticket. A DUI. Relationships that begin to become strained. Suspicions. Bouts of anger or depression. Getting fired. Dropping out. A divorce. Boy can it get ugly after a while.
Then there are those individuals who seem to come apart suddenly. The causes are varied. An accident. An unplanned pregnancy. A cancer diagnosis. The discovery of an affair. The loss of a job. The loss of a loved one. Suddenly this once stable person can no longer function. They can’t work. They can’t make decisions. Or at least good ones. They start to engage in irrational or impulsive behavior. Pretty soon they have crashed and burned. Once again, not a pretty sight.
Of course, as Christians, we are not immune to this. Bad things happen to us just like anyone else. And, truth be told, sometimes the spiritual aspect of our lives is what causes us to come apart. Conflict with other believers. Church splits. Feelings of never being able to measure up. Never being accepted by God. Burning ourselves out in ministry. The sad truth is that every day thousands of Christians are coming apart. This is sad because it doesn’t have to be this way.
As Christians, we have divine resources at our disposal that the world doesn’t have. And these resources are found in God. We received them when we put our faith in Jesus. And the way that we access these resources is by spending time with God. I don’t know who originated it but someone once wrote, “If you don’t come apart, you will come apart.” How true. How true. The key to keep from coming apart in the world is for us to come apart from the world. From the hecticness and busyness of our daily lives. From the stress and strain of life. And spend time with God. Reading the Bible. In prayer. In worship.
Jesus modeled this. Several times we are told that He got up very early in the morning to pray. By Himself. Another time He spent a late evening in prayer. By Himself. He did this because the demands of ministry were heavy. He did this so that He could find out what His Father’s will was for the days ahead. Then, on the night before Jesus was crucified, He left the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem behind. And went to the Garden of Gethsemane. A quiet place. A place where He could be alone with His Father. And receive strength for the road ahead. Not only did Jesus come apart Himself, He taught His disciples the same concept. Be with people. Minister to them. But don’t burn out. Come apart and rest. Come apart and spend time with God.
This is a message that we, as Christians, need to take to heart. In the new millennium it is increasingly difficult to come apart from the world. Why? Cell phones. Computers. TV’s. Work. People. All of these things constantly clamor for our attention. They demand our time. And unfortunately, we give it to them. What is even worse, is that many Christians don’t even see the need or value of coming apart! But if Jesus, the Son of God, needed to come apart regularly to be with God in order to meet the demands of life and ministry, how much more do we?
So let’s not kid ourselves that we are better than Jesus. Let’s resolve that we will regularly come apart to be with God. If we do, we will find that we won’t have to worry about coming apart.
Lord, it is so easy in our culture to fall into the trap of being busy, busy, busy. It is exciting. Stimulating. Affirming. And dangerous. How sad it is that we are guilty of being available to others 24/7 but not to You. Help me to come apart on a regular basis. To make spending time with You a priority. A part of my day that I look forward to. A part of my day that positively impacts the rest of my day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
As Christians, we have divine resources at our disposal that the world doesn’t have. And these resources are found in God. We received them when we put our faith in Jesus. And the way that we access these resources is by spending time with God. I don’t know who originated it but someone once wrote, “If you don’t come apart, you will come apart.” How true. How true. The key to keep from coming apart in the world is for us to come apart from the world. From the hecticness and busyness of our daily lives. From the stress and strain of life. And spend time with God. Reading the Bible. In prayer. In worship.
Jesus modeled this. Several times we are told that He got up very early in the morning to pray. By Himself. Another time He spent a late evening in prayer. By Himself. He did this because the demands of ministry were heavy. He did this so that He could find out what His Father’s will was for the days ahead. Then, on the night before Jesus was crucified, He left the hustle and bustle of Jerusalem behind. And went to the Garden of Gethsemane. A quiet place. A place where He could be alone with His Father. And receive strength for the road ahead. Not only did Jesus come apart Himself, He taught His disciples the same concept. Be with people. Minister to them. But don’t burn out. Come apart and rest. Come apart and spend time with God.
This is a message that we, as Christians, need to take to heart. In the new millennium it is increasingly difficult to come apart from the world. Why? Cell phones. Computers. TV’s. Work. People. All of these things constantly clamor for our attention. They demand our time. And unfortunately, we give it to them. What is even worse, is that many Christians don’t even see the need or value of coming apart! But if Jesus, the Son of God, needed to come apart regularly to be with God in order to meet the demands of life and ministry, how much more do we?
So let’s not kid ourselves that we are better than Jesus. Let’s resolve that we will regularly come apart to be with God. If we do, we will find that we won’t have to worry about coming apart.
Lord, it is so easy in our culture to fall into the trap of being busy, busy, busy. It is exciting. Stimulating. Affirming. And dangerous. How sad it is that we are guilty of being available to others 24/7 but not to You. Help me to come apart on a regular basis. To make spending time with You a priority. A part of my day that I look forward to. A part of my day that positively impacts the rest of my day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thanks...I needed that :)
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