I see Jesus as an introvert. You'll notice all throughout his ministry, he would sneak away at some of the oddest times to be alone. Not just alone, but with God, in prayer. That time would refresh him physically, emotionally and spiritually to take on the next order of business for the day.
"And early in the morning, while it was still dark, He arose and went out and departed to a lonely place, and was praying there." ( Mark 1:35)
"...He Himself was sending the multitude away. And after bidding them farewell, he departed to the mountain to pray." (Mark 6:45-46)
"... and He said to His disciples, "Sit here until I have prayed."... And He said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch." And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began praying. ( Mark 14:32-34)
"And when day came, He departed to a lonely place; and the multitudes were searching for Him..."( Luke 4:42)
"But He Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray." ( Luke 5:16)
"And it was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God." ( Luke 6:12)
I love quiet time with my books. I especially love quotes (as if you couldn't tell from my Facebook posts), you know, the old-timey ones with words like "thou" and "hast." They spark something in my soul. From authors like Phillip Yancey, Brennan Manning, David Platt, John Piper and Ravi Zacharias, who needs any further explanation? There's no thinking left in the matter, it's all spelled out for me right here in this book. Need a refreshing read on prayer? There's a book for that. Need to learn how to give up control? Got a chapter for that one too. Yancey wrote something that struck home with me during one of my morning reading sessions,
"After spending hours in a silent field, I have become convinced more than ever before that God finds ways to communicate to those who truly seek Him, we only need lower the volume of the surrounding static."Coffee cup in one hand and my book in the other, tears roll down my face. These are great authors, with great personal stories and ideas to glean from. But it comes out of the overflow of THEIR time with the Lord, not yours. Conviction fills my heart. I hear that familiar voice speak so gently to my heart, "Jesus didn't bring a book along to be alone with Me, because He expected me to speak and he was fully prepared to listen."
I began to realize how great a privilege I've neglected. I have the Creator God available to me. My God, who has promised to be attentive to my cries if I only speak them. My Lord who reminds me that it is He who orders my steps. On top of that privilege, as a stay-at-home mom, I've been given a rare blessing: a house of silence every morning. I've repeatedly chosen to fill that time with books, expanding my knowledge of theology, folding laundry while listening to Christmas carols, scrubbing toilets and remaking beds. While having a clean house brings me joy, it is not eternal and certainly can't align my heart to God's like sitting still before Him can.
With smartphones at our fingertips and T.V.'s on our gas pumps, it has never been more of a challenge to turn down the static of this world. Finding time to be alone and still with the Lord will most definitely be tough, but with Jesus as our example, we've got to realize how crucial it is to our life, our heart and our soul.
This morning, I've made a commitment to the Lord.
To put my books down with expectation to hear from the Greatest Author of all.
To ignore the pile of dirty clothes for a little bit while I clothe myself in His will for me.
To be still and know that He is God.
Check out this song, In the Silence by Jason Upton. Hope it speaks to your heart like it does mine.
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