You're not so different than Christ

Today's devotion comes from Luke 4:31-44. Go ahead, take a second to read it. I'll wait. Seriously. Go. *rolls eyes* Hop to it, it will give you a clue of what I'm talking about......


How busy are you? Are you so busy you don't have time to pray? We are all busy. We have work, kids, church, hobbies, honey do lists, extracurricular activities. Tons of stuff going on every day, every week, every month and every year. We most certainly can't fit one more second into our days for personal time with God. It would be impossible to start our morning with prayer and a little Bible. Right?
Are you participating in the guilt prayers? Like the conversations you sometimes have with your spouse: Hi, Thanks, Kids are great but we could use this and that and this. Love ya, Gotta run.? Is that what your prayer life sounds like?
You aren't so different than Christ! Let's take a look at just one example of the typical day for Jesus. There are so many in the Bible, but as we look at our reading for the week we see the following.
Jesus was traveling and preaching in Luke 4:31.
He threw out a few evil spirits in Luke 4:33.
By Luke 4:34, He's multitasking and telling the spirits to be quiet.
In Luke 4:38 He leaves to go heal Simon's mother-in-law.
As we continue reading, we see in Luke 4:40 as the sun was setting and Jesus had just put in a full day, it was time to relax. But wait, there's a cry from the other room (disturbance in the brush). Sound familiar? You put in a full day and just as your bottom hits the seat, a little one, one of your children, needs you. For Jesus it was His children. The people brought all who had various sicknesses for Him to heal. Rather than heal them all at once, He took them one at a time and held them, healed them, individually.
But wait! There's more.
In Luke 4:41, there were more demons to deal with and Luke 4:42 as Jesus tries to find some solitude the people find him and try to keep him from leaving.
Jesus ends his day by moving onto the next day and starting all over again.
Busy? Sounds like a pretty busy and demanding day. People are pulling Him in all directions, needing him, asking, following. All day long, He tries to help, deals with evil spirits who are trying to sabotage His work and never once complains. This was HIS life. HIS day. But is that it? Is this the whole story?
Let's look at a few more verses.
Luke 4:42 Jesus went to a solitary place
Luke 5:16 Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed
Luke 6:12 Jesus went to a mountain to pray and spent the entire night praying to God.
Luke 9:18 Jesus was praying in private.
Luke 9:28 Jesus took Peter, James and John to pray on the mountain.
Luke 11:1 Jesus was yet again praying.
These are just from Luke and only a few. There are so very many more. And through all this He's still dealing with the cross in the back of His mind. Still dealing with the fact that He knew He was going to die.
Honey, as you sit here reading this, let me tell you something so shocking you won't know what to think. Your life is no more demanding than Jesus' was and still is! You get that? You aren't so different from Christ!
Jesus was busy too, but He did something you may or may not be doing. He took the time to have one on one time with God. When was the last time you sat in the Word? When was the last time you sat with The Lord? Take the time to talk to your Father, it will be time well spent.

Dear Lord, Father. I am so sorry I have not taken the time out of my “busy day” to spend a few special moments with you. I am truly thankful for everything that makes my life full and the special people who I have the privilege to love. Today, I promise to focus more of my life on You and Your very important lessons. In Your Son's Most Heavenly and Praised Name, Amen.