January 20

Retreat, Regroup, Recover

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.  ––Mark 1:35

Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.  ––Mark 1:45

The phrase, “Three steps forward, two steps back” is one that often gets an eye-roll. We’ve all heard it a million times. Or, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The thing is, we’ve heard them a lot because there’s truth in them. Am I right? (Admit it though: they aren’t half as bad as “work smarter, not harder,” which makes us want to punch the person saying it.)

While much of the Christian life is about standing one’s ground and advancing, there’s also a time and a place to retreat. A classic example of this is when Jesus visited  home town of Nazareth, where He grew up. When He taught in their synagogue, the local leaders were furious, claiming blasphemy when He proclaimed He was Messiah. Things got ugly:

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.  ––Luke 4:28-30

God’s Son walked among them and their response was to kill Him by tossing Him off a cliff! No wonder He made Himself disappear. It’s a classic example of Jesus retreating when the circumstances warranted it. Jesus, of course, typically retreated for spiritual reasons—to be alone to spend time with His Father.

What we learn from Jesus is that there is a time for advancing—for “walking across the room” to help someone in need, for standing up for the defenseless, for proclaiming our faith, etc. But there is also a time to pull back. Some situations include:

• When we need to retreat—God craves one-on-one time with us. Jesus modeled the practice of concentrated periods of time where He was alone with God.

• When we need to regroup—Sometimes life can be overwhelming and confusing, whether we like to admit it or not. It’s good to press pause sometimes, step away, and gain God’s clarity on a situation or relationship.

• When we need to recover—At other times, we may feel like the wheels are coming off of life. Crises happen—the unexpected death of a loved one; the loss of a job, spouse, or prodigal child; a financial reversal. God wants to heal your heart, brother, of whatever bad stuff might be weighing you down. It’s called baggage, and He wants us to dump it at His feet.

Father, show me the time to retreat, regroup, or recover. Also, give me discernment when it’s time to move forward. Thank You that Your Holy Spirit is here to guide me in each circumstance.