How well do you handle large crowds? Are you comfortable with meeting new people and interacting with them? Or do crowds cause you to seek a place to hide? After a very busy day do you feel the need to sit and be quiet? Do you want to go to a place of solitude?
Depending on your personality type, large crowds can be exhilarating or they can trigger anxiety. Some of us get excited for parties while others dread going to them. A busy and stressful day at work may result our desire to sit quietly at home that evening.
Jesus had had a busy day. He had planned to go to a quiet place but was met by a crowd that could have been large enough to fill a stadium. Matthew tells us there were five thousand men plus women and children, meaning there could have been as many as twenty thousand people. Jesus cured their sick. Imagine the line of people He may have had who were seeking a cure. When all the sick were cured, He had them set down and fed them. Jesus was likely exhausted, both mentally and physically. He needed some quiet time to commune with the Father.
Today, many people forgo the quiet time in prayer. They substitute quiet time for watching television, streaming movies, or playing video games. Though these may allow us to relax or take our minds off the busyness, they are a poor substitute for a quiet prayerful time with God. Jesus said His burden is light and we are to take it while giving Him our burdens. We give it all to Him in prayer. It is in quiet prayer time that we find real relief from our worries and stress. It is in that prayer time that we receive the guidance we need from God.
I pray we all know there is no substitute for quiet time with God. I pray we spend time in prayer, giving God our burdens. I pray each one of us seeks a quiet place to commune with God to relieve our worries and stress. Find a quiet place to spend with God. Give your burdens to him. Seek God’s guidance.
Matthew 14:22-23a Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray.
Marty Pressey 