June 17: Insight Post by Rusty Coram

Weekly Focus

Wednesday Insight Post
by Rusty Coram

I am really intrigued by this short statement about Jesus as He was preparing to appoint twelve of His followers to be His A-Team. After an intense time dealing with critics who were increasingly attacking Him publicly and a nonstop parade of people coming to Him for healing, Jesus had earned a vacation break to rest, plan, and regain His strength. Instead, knowing the importance of His mission and the high stakes involved, here is what He did, “¹²One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. ¹³At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.” Luke 6:12–13 (NLT) A lot of things stand out to me in this, but the big takeaway, especially for those of us in leadership roles, is this: the more pressure we are under, the more we need to pray. Pressure can cause us to give up or postpone important things like sleep, exercise, and good eating habits. We need to fight hard to keep these healthy things in place. “One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat.” Mark 3:20 (NLT) He gave up sleep and, at times, eating in the pursuit of accomplishing the work His father assigned to Him. But He never abandoned the priority of carving out time alone with God and prayer. Neither should we.

Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor

New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org