On Lonely Places

And when it was day he departed and went into a lonely place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them; but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose." And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea. Luke 4:42–44 (RSV)

The verses just before these give the impression that Jesus was up far into the night, preaching, healing, and casting out demons. When the word gets out that someone can heal diseases and cast out demons, people come from every point of the compass. They are often desperate, having tried every other resource available. They come to Jesus hoping against hope that perhaps, just perhaps, the stories are true, Jesus can do something.

When the dawn finally broke, and there was no more to heal, no demons to cast out, Jesus sought a lonely place. Jesus often found a lonely place, far from the excitement, there He could let all the suffering and sorrow He had touched in recent hours no longer bear down on Him. Time and again, Jesus sought a lonely place and only have it for a time. Then the crowds would find Him, and the healing and casting out would start all over.

I wonder how often Jesus was weary, tired to the point of exhaustion, when the crowds sought Him out, taking from Him the quiet, lonely place He needed? Human flesh can endure much when it is required. We can go beyond what we thought possible. Still, we all reach the point where we can go no further. We must stop.

Jesus went on because of the strength of the relationship He had with His Father. The love, mercy, and strength that flowed from the Father to Jesus lifted His weary heart and soul. In the strength of the Father's grace, Jesus could go on.

The latest statistics I have seen indicate that about 30% of new pastors leave the ministry within five years of taking their first call. There are various reasons for this number, but I suspect that personal stress is more than they could bear.

Pastors who continue in their call do so because they are confident that God the Father is there for them. They are convinced that He will sustain them in all the places that their call takes them. Pray for your pastor, ask the Father to guide and sustain them as He did Jesus. Your prayers will do more than anything you can imagine in helping your pastor fulfill their call.