''Yet the news about him spread all the more, and enormous crowds collected to hear Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. But he slipped quietly away to deserted places for prayer.'' Luke 5:15-16 PHILLIPS
Spiritual things do not run by human systems and methods. Every age and era has its laws and norms for success. What to remember is that the Wisdom of God is ageless and above the different formulas and fads of human cultures, civilisations and eras. YHWH is not a man, therefore, he does not reason like a man.
An example of this our opening bible reference. Jesus the Messiah, at the height of his fame, was known to slip away to deserted places to pray. As the New International Version translation of the Bible put's it:
''Yet the news about him spread all the more so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed''. This suggests that his practice of withdrawing became more regular as more people sort him. He was not trying to build a legacy or business (not that there is anything inherently wrong with those things) but he knew his particular assignment was not to glorify himself but that the Father (YHWH) may find full expression in him as his son. He knew he was to be the identical expression of YHWH on earth in action and timing, and to do this, they must be one - in complete synchrony:
''Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.''
John 5:18-20NIV. As the Contemporary English version puts it: ''and he does exactly what he sees the Father do''
So why did he withdraw? To see and maintain that synchrony. And why so often? Because Jesus, his human body on earth, was exposed to the societal norms and reasonings of his era which are antithetical to the Heavenly way of being and doing he was representing. As he bluntly put it to the Jews in John 8:22-24, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world''; for this reason, the more the pressures to conform increased, the more time he needed with His Father.
Was Jesus successful? Did his divinely directed methods work? Did he accomplish what he set out to do?
Well, we have the benefit of over 2000 years of hindsight: about 2.5 Billion people worldwide today consider themselves followers of Jesus as Christians and even the 1.8 billion Muslims recognise him as a great prophet. He is the Head of the largest religion in this world which despite massive opposition only grows stronger. I would say, his method of 'in-step' divine guidance worked very well.
The key to success in the things of God is not in the results we can see today. Success today is following the guidance of the one who knows tomorrow.
Another baffling example of divine guidance is that of Moses:
''Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.''
During these 40 days alone with YHWH, he received heaven's blueprints for the Tent (Tabernacle where God would meet with his people) and for all the vestments, furnishing, equipment, modes and in addition, received the Tablets of the Ten Commandments in YHWH's handwriting. The strange thing is that he (and YHWH) already knows the unsettled nature of the people he led. So, what kind of leadership wisdom would inform leaving such a restless and rebellious group of followers without regular 'social media engagement', ' encouraging posts and communication', or consistent inspirational 'You-tube shots' to maintain community engagement and devotion to the cause?
As the Lord said to me (after He told me to take time to be with him alone) and I asked what would happen to the message, He said, any cause that can not stand while I take time to be with him, is not of him. Its death, therefore, would be deserved.
This Moses found out:
''When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”'' ... that Generation that could not wait died in the wilderness and the generation that entered the promised land was that generation that could wait on the Lord and follow his culturally antithetical timing and ways. [Deuteronomy 1:34-36]
God does not panic build. He is in charge and time is his servant, not the other way around.
I heard several things in my time with the Lord and one is that this cause is not a fad. It is divine and led only by the Lord Jesus himself as directed by his word and spirit. The flesh has no part in it. There is more to say but today, we reflect and celebrate the greatest (and most antithetical) success strategy of all ages: the salvation of the human race by the shameful death by crucifixion of the leader of the cause- JESUS CHRIST our Saviour.
Happy Good Friday brethren.
''Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.'' Romans 12:2
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