Come Away With Me

Jesus said to His disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest”.

These past few weeks have been crazy busy with birthdays, Spring Break, planning for future engagements, attending meetings, leading meetings, keeping up with the house and bills and meals for the family, carting kids to school and activities. Whew! I’m sure that each of you can add a dozen more things to the list. We are all busy. Being a woman on the run is a lot of fun, but there’s not a lot of time to be still — or is there?

In Mark, chapters 5 & 6, Jesus and His disciples are extremely busy traveling from town to town teaching and healing! The crowds were pressing in and wanting to hear more from Jesus and the disciples. Jesus had been training the disciples up to teach and heal. He sent them out two-by-two in Mark 6:7 and in verses 30-32 it says:

The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to Him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming a 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. So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

When I read those words, I think of the opening lyrics to Nora Jones, “Come away with me…”. It sounds so dreamy to get on a boat with Jesus and share some quiet, uninterrupted conversations about what is going on in my life. The truth is, I don’t have to wait to get on a boat with Him like the disciples did. I can do it right now.

God encourages each of us to set aside time daily to meet with Him, read His word and pray. When I choose to carve out that time, God loves on me through the promises found in the Bible. I can feel God’s presence as I refocus on Him and the plan that He has for my life.

I can easily focus on my reading and praying when the house is quiet. Sometimes that is early in the morning when I’m the first one up, and other times it’s mid-day when my kids are napping. There have been times that I’m able to focus better at night. No matter the time of day, God wants to meet with you wherever you are. Here are some other ideas of ways to “come away” with Christ:

• Print out Scriptures and post them on your bathroom mirror/wall. It’s the first thing you see in the morning!
• Have your Bible open on the kitchen counter and read it before fixing breakfast or while eating breakfast.
• Sign up online for devotionals and Scriptures to be emailed to you. Choose to read the Scripture emails before anything else in your inbox.

~ Amanda McKnatt

Father God, thank you for giving me 24 hours in each day.  May I carve out some time to spend with You reading and praying.  You are a safe place, a sweet refuge from the craziness of this life.  Allow the Holy Spirit to convict me when I delay from spending time with you.  Remind my heart of the joy it finds when I say “yes” to come away with you. Amen

Other Scriptures to study:

• Psalm 42
• Psalm 139
• Psalm 73:25-28
• Hebrews 10:19-225
• James 4:8