Faithbase

Hey, y'all. We are rocking through our series of The Chosen. We are in season 2, episode 3. I keep getting that switch for some reason, but I got it right. We are in season 2, episode 3. And the title of this episode is Matthew 424. So we are going to dive in first, take a look at that verse and then back it up a bit. So Matthew 424 says, then the news about him spread, Jesus. The news about Jesus spread throughout Syria. So they, the community, the people around, brought to him all those who were afflicted, those suffering from various diseases and intense pains. The demon possessed, the epileptics, the paralytics, and he healed them. Large crowds followed him from Galilee to Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. When I read a verse like this, it is so important to give yourself some context. Where are we in history? Where are we in the major overall theme or overarching story of the Bible? What's going on? So this is towards the very beginning of Jesus's earthly ministry. And I find it absolutely beautiful that Matthew included this story, basically just saying Jesus had a lot of stuff to do. Like people were flocking to him, not only to say, obviously the guy's great because everybody wants to follow him, but even more so. If we look back just a little bit in chapter 4, still in chapter 4, we read of the temptation of Jesus. And so this is when Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days with Satan on his tail, tempting him time and time again. And so what we get from that is Jesus reminds Satan and himself that God provides, that God is the sustainer of life, that we are protected by God, and that he is the one who is to give us our commands. We don't tell God what to do. We do not manipulate God or test him. We get direction from him instead of telling him what to do or what we need. And when I thought about that, especially after thinking of that in context of what Jesus immediately went into, of having flocks of people just come to him, need, I need this, this, this, that, you know, just, ha! I feel like that a lot. Especially right now. I have a 5-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a 7-month-old puppy, 7, 8, 9, somewhere in there. And I know that that's not a lot. There are other people who have way, way, way, way, way more on their plate. But all of that on top of seminary, on top of helping teach classes at the seminary, on top of laundry, and just life. We all have this overwhelming sense. If we sat here and thought about all of the things that needed our attention, it's not healing diseases, it's not curing demon-possessed. However, you haven't met my dog. Maybe. I'm just kidding. But what we need to remember is, when Jesus was faced with absolute fatigue, I love the way, if you get to watch that episode of The Chosen, watching Jesus go to his tent, and he's like, I am just so tired. He was a man. He only had fleshly abilities. And so, one, it reminds us that we are human. And in our flesh, in our own abilities, we are so limited. So often, we think we can do more, and then beat ourselves up because we can't, when in reality, it's impossible, unless somebody knows how to add hours to the day. So remembering our flesh, giving ourselves some grace, making time for rest, because our physical bodies will straight up give out, you will get sick, you will burn out, you have got to take care of your body. But then the rest is not ours to plan, handle, or do. We go to the Father. It is when we are in the presence of the Father. We watch Jesus throughout the rest of his ministry. He would always get away to pray. Prayer was one of the top, top priorities for Jesus. He would leave all the things, all the people who needed healing, all the concerns of the day, those who were questioning him, the planned attacks. He had way more than I could ever imagine. And the thing he knew he had to do to make it through the day was to get with his Father in a peaceful rest. And so I remind myself, even though I'm exhausted, if I don't get my quiet time in in the mornings, I know for me personally, that time totally sets the tone for the rest of my day. So this is my advice or encouragement to you that, and it doesn't have to be a quiet time, it doesn't have to look any certain way. It could just be a simple time of prayer when you're on a walk or while you're folding laundry or while you're cooking dinner. But making sure that you remain connected to God is the answer to so much of the overwhelm and stress. Just like Jesus, all those people were still down there waiting as soon as he was done praying. Your babies are not going anywhere. They're gonna still need a snack that they needed before. Giving yourself that time to fill up gives you the ability, the strength to work out of the Spirit instead of out of your flesh. So I hope that that is helpful for you and that you are able to meet with the Lord and receive peace even in the midst of chaos of life.