One Of Those Days

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. Luke 6:12. 

This was for me, one of those mornings when honestly, you just wanted to remain in bed, remain asleep, yet your mind would not allow you to return to sleep.  It was one of those mornings, when you kept asking God whether it was He or some other voice in your head that you are hearing.  It was one of those mornings when this word was literally put in me.

We all have had a, one of those days, day.  We have all spoken of one of those days, when everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong.  Or, it was one of those days when we were just going and going - on our feet - no rest.

This was brought to me as a, one of those days, in the life of Jesus. I do not know whether or not the events in the Bible were recorded chronologically but this I know, I was given this, fed this word and I offer you what truly made a lasting difference and change in my mind. As I said, whether it was because of the constant harassment of the religious leaders, who just would not let Jesus be, on the Sabbath, or what, Jesus used this to bring me to the way of handling a, One of those days, day.

There are four things in this one verse that Jesus did.  We see and hear His: -

Decision - to leave the hustle, bustle and noise of the city for a while.

Action – in going to a mountainside, a place of quiet perhaps, a place away and apart.

Mission – that of prayer, for it was His intention to go to that mountainside to pray.

Petition - He prayed to God, and stayed in fellowship with Him for the entire night.

Please listen carefully! As I was being taken there, I tell you, as the very Lord was removing me from the clutter, bombardment and noise of all that was giving me a, one of those mornings, times, I was told DAMP. Bear with me as I explain. 

Damp is a word we use in Handbell ringing to ‘shut the bell up’, my way of saying it.  Damp simply means that he or she who is controlling the sound or noise the bell makes, can stop it from ringing and vibrating. When I heard the word Damp, as a command, I immediately got all into myself, saying to Jesus that I am out of it today. There was I, already with a head-full of so many distractions and now, instead of paying attention and listening carefully, I am thinking about Handbell ringing! Of course, I was given a stern reprimand and it was only then, when I stopped my foolish whining, that I saw, yes I saw what I was learning and where I was being taken.  

I saw the Unlimited Holy Spirit working the Lord’s will and way, in me, the limited one.  I saw the Holy Heavenly One, working in the unholy, earthly one, me.  I saw the One who is able to lead me and you through, one of those days. It took me a while to know what was happening, but my slowness did not in any way impede the Work of God’s Spirit in me.   

While I did not know what the word DAMP meant, it was being done in me.  Be led in Him. Surrender to the Spirit of God and know a DAMP within you, only if today is, one of those days, for you.

Your Decision will be to leave the hustle, harassment, noise, stress all around you.  Your mind that is cluttered and being bombarded with so many things, will make a decision to leave it all, to shut it all up.                                                            

This is the Decision Jesus took for Himself on, one of those days, and He will do it in you now.

 

Your Action will be to totally blot out all that is causing you to be ‘ill’ in mind, to be restless, and without the peace that is yours in Christ Jesus.  You will leave that place and find a place of rest and quiet, away from the noise that is crippling you, affecting not just mind, but body and spirit as well. You will find a mountainside, in a person, a place, or even a word, where you can retreat.

This is the Action Jesus took for Himself on, one of those days, and He will do it in you now.

Your Mission will be to pray. You will find that mountainside and there you will pray. Your mission will be nothing else but to present your all before God and God alone. Yes, in that place apart, in that away place, that hushed place, you will find not just the beauty and peace of a mountainside, but the courage it gives.          

This is the Mission Jesus took for Himself on ‘one of those days’ and He will do it for you now.

 

Your Petition will be before God and to God - no other.  This prayer is fellowship with God, where you will not want to leave. You will easily spend the night in fellowship with Him for who, but God, can give such a time of relief and release?  The noise is hushed and you hear the voice of God only as you fellowship with Him. 

This is the Petition Jesus took for Himself on ‘one of those days’ and He will make the same for you now.

 

That was all Jesus needed to face the coming new day.  This is all that you need to face whatever will come your way, whatever decisions you must make, be they in your estimation, big or small.

Today, know that the Lord still leads and directs you in a DAMP.  It is He who directs you to DAMP, the thoughts of disquiet that plague your mind. It is He who directs you to DAMP the inner voices of unease, which hold you and give you no comfort, peace or rest. 

Jesus, thank you for leading and directing me in this Decision, Action, Mission and Petition.  Amen!