“But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.…Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter….”
—Galatians 1:11-12, 17-18a
Paul received the gospel straight from Jesus—not from the disciple’s witness, as we do today. This was the basis for why we call him “Paul the Apostle”—because he learned his doctrine straight from the Lord.
After his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, he went into Arabia—a desert. There, he spent quite a while—possibly up to three years—before returning to Jerusalem. A desert is a sign of self-denial. And there was the place he went to learn.
Where is your desert, friend? Where do you go to get away from the world, a place shut away from everyone else? Maybe even, perhaps, like Paul, a place where others fear to go and mostly leave to it self? Where is the place you can go alone, where only Jesus can reach you? Even if it is one short hour, or maybe just a couple snatched minutes, make use of that time. Draw nigh to Him—and He will draw nigh to you (James 4:8a).
Esther, I have just once again recognized the need of a "desert" or what I call "whitespace." Around my house it is almost impossible to find "quiet", but I make use of quiet time when it is available.
ReplyDeleteIt's very important, isn't it? I find it amazing to see how encouraging it is to have just a bit of quiet time to myself.
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