Down time

Luke 5:16 but Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. 

Often Jesus would walk away from the intense pressures of His earthly life. He would seek a place of quiet and peace to restore His energy and spiritual batteries. On an average day, He would be faced with the hostilities from the religious leaders. He would deal with followers that wanted fed or healed or forgiven. His chosen twelve gave Him constant frustration. He told them they were slow-witted, faithless and stubborn. No one offered Him rest or encouragement. 

On the night before Jesus selected His twelve Apostles (Luke 6:12), He spent the night in prayer. He was communing with His Father and the Holy Spirit. He knew where His support system is. He knew to go to the Ones that had His best interests at heart. Jesus sought Them for encouragement. He already knew who would betray Him. He knew that Peter would deny Him and all of them would desert Him. But He also knew that these were the men that would take His Word to all the world. 

Jesus had a habit that strengthened Him. We would be wise to follow His example. He would step away from the pressures of His ministry and get the regeneration that He so deeply needed. He did not see it as 'deserting' His ministry, instead, He required that time away. A 'down time' would prepare Him for the next time of pressures and aggression of the Pharisees. 

During an average day, we are under pressure to go here, do this, get this done. We have a schedule that would slow down the best. When we are trying to nurture our children, we don't always do what is best for ourselves while we are doing so much for them. One of the things that service people are taught is that if you don't take care of yourself first, you won't be able to help others. Stewardesses will tell passengers to first put on an oxygen mask before helping others. If you pass out from oxygen deprivation, you can't save others. 
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Taking time away is a good way to reconnect with the Lord. Having a time apart to study His word and commune with Him gives us a time to refocus on the real priorities and set aside those things that distract us. The Lord desires that time apart with us. He wants us to thrive in His love. We can't do that if we don't step away and enjoy 'down time' with Him.