By Rachel Stewart

“Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.  After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.”  Mark 6:45-46

In this passage, Jesus had just finished feeding 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Talk about a crazy busy day!  And I complain about a long day with 23 students.  Lol

I can’t imagine how it felt to have people constantly around Him all the time.  Crowds just flocked to Him. It seemed hard for Jesus to get alone by himself to spend time in prayer. If anyone had the “I’m too busy” excuse, it was Jesus.

But he made time with His Father a priority.

One thing I am learning on this Christian journey is I have to MAKE TIME for God.

There’s always going to be stuff to do. There’s always grocery shopping, dishes, laundry, papers to grade. People to see. Places to go.  Appointments to keep.  I can sure list the excuses.  But I’m trying to change that.

I don’t like THAT Rachel!

I’m seeing the incredible difference it is making in my life when I spend time with Him. It’s addicting. I love how HE makes me feel!  I love how HE satisfies!  Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a hot mess.  I fall into sin and slip up daily!  It’s pitiful how quickly I fall.  Just ask Skip…well, actually please don’t. Just take my word for it. 😉

I read the following from a Proverbs 31 devotional by Lysa Terkeurst. She said,

“One way to be more discerning of this is to commit to exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world every day. Before you check your cell phone or scroll through social media, spend time with Him. Listen for Him. And then go look for rich evidence of Him at work in your life.  Because God stands in our yesterday, today and tomorrow, He sees all. And He knows the perfect way to prepare our hearts for every situation.”

I just love that!  If we spend time with Him, we will see RICH evidence of Him at work in our lives!  Time spent with God–that’s what I call time well spent!