By Pr Esther Kintu
During October 2019, Robes of Purple (the women’s ministry at House of Revival Church, Kampala) focused on the topic of finding balance in life.
As women take on more roles outside home, lives are becoming busier because of the added responsibilities yet they also need time to invest in themselves and other relationships, whilst leading normal lives. This has become challenging for many, causing frustration, burn-out and stress. The need, therefore, for the right balance is urgent.
However, we cannot talk about finding balance in our lives without talking about personal time of solitude with God. One writer said Jesus was not guided by a desire to impress multitudes or to reach billions. He was not moved by a desire to perform the most spectacular miracles.
Jesus was guided by the Father’s will, and the Father’s will imposed certain priorities on Him. In our daily lives as believers, we may not necessarily be followed by hungry and desperate multitudes seeking for healing or other miracles. But like Jesus, we have valid and conflicting demands on our lives. Sometimes these demands seem urgent, important and require our involvement.
Lessons from Jesus
The Bible highlights Jesus’ lifestyle from which we can draw key lessons on the issue of balance. It is important that just like Jesus, we must allow God’s will to impose certain priorities on our lives. The most important priority for us as believers must be having a daily personal solitude time with God.
Jesus demonstrated this priority by deliberately taking off time to pray alone. Mark 1:35 says: “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Matthew 14:23 adds: “And
when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, He was there alone.”
Through daily time of solitude with God, Jesus was connected to what the Father was doing and wanted Him to do. No wonder He stated, in John 5:30: “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” Jesus always listened to the Father and transferred what He received to the crowds. He did not seek to do what He pleased. He sought to do the Father’s will.
In John 4:34, Jesus said: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to fi nish His work.” Jesus could only know the Father’s will including what the Father would have Him do by spending time with the Father.
This daily solitude with God becomes our true bearing, our compass and our anchor point.
It enables us to receive daily direction and instruction concerning the other demands in our lives. We are reminded of a scenario after the disciples returned from a very demanding time of ministry in Mark 6:31. Jesus’ fi rst response to their good report was: “Come away with me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while.” That call is still relevant today.
In the midst of all the business and tight schedules including where we are busy because of ministry and kingdom service; in the multitude of important and urgent demands; in the era where the world has become one global village and technology has offered options to meaningful connections and relationships, there is a call to get away and spend time with Him.
