Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:04] Thanks so much for joining me on another weekday podcast. This is Pastor Chuck Allen, and I want to talk to you today about Mark 1:35.
[00:00:13] I was in Men of Valor, our men's Bible study last night. We had like 70 plus guys there, and one of my friends is a fellow by the name of Hutch Madison, and he said on his way to church, he was listening to scripture and. And he was listening to mark 1:35.
[00:00:30] Now, in this one single verse, there is so much for us to take away, but I want to hone in on what Hutch was talking about. Here's how the text goes.
[00:00:41] 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. Just pause there for a minute. That's it.
[00:00:53] Simple, right? But, dude, there's so much packed into this one scene. Here's Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. Crowds are gathering. Miracles are happening. Lives are being changed. If anybody had a reason to hit the snooze button and catch a little more sleep, it would have been Jesus. If anybody had the excuse, end quote, of being too busy to pray, well, it's the Son of God, Jesus.
[00:01:19] And yet he slips away quietly before the sun even cracks the horizon.
[00:01:27] Now, I don't want you to miss this, because Jesus is just coming out of having spent 40 days and 40 nights alone.
[00:01:38] And if there was ever a morning to sleep in, it's now.
[00:01:43] Here's Jesus, beginning of the ministry, miracles happening, all the stuff going on.
[00:01:50] But because of the work he's been called to do, he doesn't run on yesterday's energy.
[00:01:57] He doesn't run on autopilot. He doesn't mail it in.
[00:02:02] He literally goes to the source of power, which is intimacy with God the Father, because that power flows out of his presence.
[00:02:13] Now, I don't know about you, but my mornings don't always look like that. Some mornings are just messy. Some start with emails, some start with the news blaring, some with a to do list screaming for my attention before I've even grabbed coffee, which is not good.
[00:02:33] And maybe that's why this little verse feels like such an invitation, a gentle reminder that before we rush headlong into the noise and the pace of life, there's this sacred chance to pause, to sit in the quiet, to hear again that we are loved and he always loves us.
[00:02:53] Notice it says while it was still dark. That means Jesus was stepping into silence, into stillness. He wasn't waiting for the noise of the world to shape him. He was allowing the voice of the Father to come first.
[00:03:07] Friend, what if your day started that way?
[00:03:10] Even if it's not 5am before sunrise, even if it's just five minutes carved out in between the ordinary chaos of life. What if before the text, before the notifications, before the demands, we remembered who we are and whose we are? You see, folks, this isn't about guilt. It's not about another. This is what you should be doing on an already super full plate. It's an invitation.
[00:03:35] The God of the universe, who knows your name, who knows your story, he longs to meet with you in the quiet you're beloved friend, you're sustained. When you step into stillness, even for a few moments, you find strength for this weird, fascinating journey we're on and Jesus shows us here. Ministry, work, life. It's not fueled by striving.
[00:03:58] It's fueled by connection, by being grounded in the love of the Father. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me on the weekday podcast today. Go live with peace.
[00:04:09] Go live today with courage. And remember, you're never alone. We'll see you back next week. God bless you. Thanks again for joining me on today's weekday podcast.
