Can't Stay Away

Fun, fun, and more fun!

It’s that time of year again when many of you and your families will be hitting the road, flying through the skies, or sailing away to that much anticipated vacation that you have been planning for and longing to experience. It may be a trip that has become an annual tradition, a new place to explore, a reunion to see family and friends, or maybe the new thing, a “staycation”, where you see visit the familiar sights in your own hometown. Wherever the case may be, the time is near, and you can hardly wait.

It’s nice to get away from the routine and do something different, to “recharge” our batteries so we can plow ahead in the journey of life. And just so you won’t feel guilty about getting away from it all, our Savior encouraged rest and relaxation, when he told His disciples in Mark 6:31, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while.”

There are some routines we absolutely need a break from, but as I think about getting away from it all, there are two things that come to mind that we should NEVER cease to do. Perhaps you can guess what they are……..I can’t take a break from these precious practices because they have become a lifeline to me. I am speaking of being intentional about being in the presence of the Lord through Prayer and Reading His Word.

Talking to the Lord daily in prayer is so needed. There is nothing like talking to our Father, as we praise and honor Him in our hearts, ask Him to forgive us of the MANY times that we just don’t get it right, thank Him for His MANY blessings, and present our requests and petitions before Him. Yes, prayer is talking to Him, but it is also so much more, we should incline our hearts to listen as He speaks to us; it is two-way communication, not a monologue. I love what the psalmist says, “Be to me a rock of habitation to which I may continually come…..“ Psalm 71:3a. It’s comforting to know that we can always come to the Lord in prayer.

Every time we open the Bible, we can be certain that it is the voice of God speaking to us. Although He used several writers over a period of hundreds of years to give us the Scriptures, He speaks through every book, chapter, and verse. The psalmist says in Psalm 119:18, “Open up my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.” May this plea be the attitude of our hearts and minds, as we fervently pursue God’s Law, and have it minister to us each and every day.

Yes, get away as much as you can, and as often as you can to regroup and energize from your daily routine of working, cleaning, cooking, organizing, running errands, care giving, and the list goes on. Yet never neglect to be faithful to cultivate a daily routine of Prayer and the Word, so that your heart cries out, “I can’t stay away!”