Dr. Jim Wilkins
Retreat is a fascinating word. Some synonyms of retreat include departure, withdrawal, haven, sanctuary, refuge, and shelter. The reality of life is that every person from time to time needs a place of retreat, and the time to retreat there. How one spends their time in retreat is sometimes never known, for by definition retreat implies solitude. It is recorded in many places that even Jesus, in human flesh, took time away from the crowds and sought the silence of retreat. The gospels say he often “went up on a mountainside by himself to pray.” This knowledge helps us understand that from time to time each of us needs to practice being in solitude. It is important. People need to recharge their batteries, renew their zeal for life, find direction for tough decisions, and seek the wisdom, which includes God’s own unique grace. I find myself now in this place of retreat.
Fellowship at the Ranch has so generously offered me a brief sabbatical (retreat) from my duties as pastor of this church. While I’m away, several different men will be preaching in my place, and the Elders of our church along with our leadership team will be continuing to provide the care giving ministry for which our church has become known. I trust if you come to seek a place to worship you will consider coming to visit our worship time.
Everyone needs a place to retreat. Worshiping the Creator, discussing life with the One who brought you into existence, seeking His counsel, looking to Him for wisdom, all these are the best activities a person can find, for the restoration of what all of us need. Each of us carries around with us some cause, concern, or caustic memory which drags us down, draining out of us the very things we need most to live a life that glorifies the Creator. Our energy depleted, our focus obscured, our thinking muddled, we continue on this path of defeat until we finally find a place of retreat. In the sacred place, in the cleft of the rock, on the mountain of God’s grace, we can find rest.
What’s holding you back from seeking out your own retreat? Are you afraid if you stop pushing on through all the toils of your life that your life will suddenly have less meaning? Is it fear of finally figuring out that what was important at one time, is not as important today, as it was only a few years ago? Or is it simply the fact that you’re all too aware that you haven’t stopped long enough in awhile now, to actually hear the Creator’s voice, saying “Be still, and know that I am God”?
Maybe I’m right. Perhaps it is time for you to stop, and find your own place of retreat.
Dr. Jim Wilkins is the Pastor of Fellowship at the Ranch. We meet each Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. in the Clubhouse.