For Your Body's Sake:

In this lifetime, you will retreat for your body's sake. You will feel many things pressing towards you---many things of life: family, friends, work, projects, and other things. And if you are wise, you will understand that your body and well-being is very important...so you will retreat. You were created by God to operate in full dominion and authority. You were not created to be pushed into the gutter or trampled upon. You were created in the image and likeness of God. So when the enemy comes unto you like a flood, God must lift up a mighty standard against him. But you must know your own limits. Do what you can and retreat, leaving the rest to God.

I have some examples of when Jesus was teaching multitudes of people in Luke chapter 5. And so it was that he was standing at the edge of the lake, and these people kept pressing towards him. They kept moving forward, forward, and continuously forward...trying to glue their ears to what He was saying. I noticed that He looked back and saw two boats behind Him, then He thought about it again and made the decision to enter one of the boats, and then He told the owner to please drift out a little bit. And He continued teaching from His new vantage point...

See, when you don't drift out a little bit, the people will compress your message. The people might drown you inside a pit of no return. It is good to go away a little bit to re-group. When you say your message when people are not drowning you, you will sound stronger and more confident about what you carry.

Also, before you make important decisions of your life, you need to go away to your quiet place to consider what you are about to do. In Luke 6:12-13, it was recorded that Jesus went out by Himself to the mountains to pray, and He continued all night in prayer. The next morning was when He selected those 12 disciples that He would later reveal the secrets about His life to. The selection was an important process that He had to go through, but He went on a retreat with God FIRST before He made that decision. Do we do that before we make important decisions?

So my message today is that you must learn to care for your body and your mental health by retreating into the quietness of God's presence. In a quiet place you can think properly and communicate with God, asking Him about the best ways to proceed with certain decisions you have to make. Also, from a vantage point, you can see the people trying to press towards you more clearly, you can gauge each one of them and identify what areas they need your help in. You can ascertain the needs and characters of people by stepping away from them for a while, rather than studying them when they are right up in your face.

There goes my thoughts for today...I've been a little busier than I expected, but I will post again really soon. I may not be able to reply every single comment, but I want you to know that I will read your comments and probably smile at one or two...lol. I pray that you will learn to seek wisdom from a quiet place and a vantage point when no one is with you. Most of all, I pray that God will bless you and make His face to shine upon you, and that your hands will receive everything that He has already equipped you to be successful in this world. It's already in your hands...

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