News about Jesus spread widely, and great crowds came to hear him
and be healed of their ailments.
Yet he often withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
Luke 5:15-16
Some Ideas to Contemplate:
- In this passage, the Gospel Writer called Luke shares that Jesus—Master Mystic, Healer, Teacher, and Wayshower—does wondrous works within the community. Yet Jesus frequently takes time to renew his own energy in prayer and solitude. While others around him may hurry and struggle, Jesus sets his own pace. In addition, he prays affirmatively, not begging and beseeching God (Higher Power, Divine Spirit, Supreme Universal Energy, etc.), but aligning himself with God so he can apply his divine guidance.
- As the entrepreneur of his own ministry, Jesus leads from his spiritual integrity. He cannot allow himself to absorb everyone else’s energy or take on other people’s problems. His “Do Less, Be More” wisdom from the 1st century is still significant for us, reminding us that the outer world need not determine how we will live. Like Jesus, we can be devoted to our calling, whatever it is, without letting it consume us. We can go into the wilderness—a place of peace and solitude—where we can reconnect with God.
- Being in the wilderness is being quietly self-aware, without thinking, planning, judging, or analyzing. Imagine the wilderness as a vast field where we can access infinite knowledge. Some ways to be peaceful there include:
- Birdwatching;
- Carving;
- Coloring;
- Gardening;
- Knitting;
- Taking a power nap; and
- Walking in nature.
Practices for the Week:
- Reflect, with self-compassion, on any ways you rush through life, going from one thing to the next, depleted and tired.
- Imagine and visualize what your life would be like if you released all toxic intensity and frenetic pacing.
- Illustrate, journal, and/or record the ways you can move ahead slowly now.
You are a spiritual being with a radiant soul, living in a sacred body temple, having human experiences. Like Jesus, you can honor your spiritual energy with times of rest and rejuvenation. When you gently unplug from the outer world, you can trust, as Jesus did, that what you need is already available and that you are discovering it at your own perfect pace.
© 2026 – Rev Jenn Sacks – All rights reserved.
Photo from Shutterstock by Just dance.
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