Find me a Desolate Place

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Luke 5:15-16 ESV)

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35 ESV)

des·o·late adjective

ˈdesələt/

1. 1. 

   (of a place) deserted of people and in a state of bleak and dismal emptiness.

   
   

   
   

This morning, for the third day in a row, I am awake after only 4-5 hours sleep. So much is happening, all at once. So many things are changing. There is too much to think about. Everything seems cluttered and disorganized. Nothing is in place. Nothing feels sure, in fact, every thing feels fluid and unstable. I am on sensory overload. 

I am awake now trying to arrange my thoughts into compartments. I need to get it all into bite-size proportions before I come unglued. I need to get lists and plans and start crossing things off. I need to be able to find one area of a job well done and in order.

I need to.....

I have to......

I must.......

I should......

What I need is exactly what God is telling me by waking me up early the past few mornings. 

" Come Child, you need Me."

But Lord, if I don't get some stuff, at least some stuff, under my control....

If I can't feel like I have a good grasp on things, I can't find peace.....

"But Child of mine, do not let the demands of life overtake you."

Yes, I need to let go of the demands, the worries, the feelings of being overwhelmed, the exhaustion.

To be able to continue, as I must, I need to get centered, refocused, refreshed, as only by being still and quiet in a desolate place, before God, can do for me.

Lord, I am in a desolate place, bleak and empty. It is early yet. No one is yet awake expecting things of me. There is so much to do and so much to think about but for these few moments I am all Yours. You know what I need. I need you to fill me, Lord with You. Help me, Lord. I don't even know the words to say. But You, Lord, know me. You love me. You are my power and my strength. Help me to  cast off the unimportant. Thank you, Lord. Thank You, Lord. Thank You.