Don't get sidetracked.

 

"EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR YOU!" MARK 1:37 NIV

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once quipped, "There can't be another crisis. My schedule's already full!" That can happen when other people determine your agenda. Jesus refused to live that way. During His early ministry when word spread about His miracles, "The whole town gathered...and Jesus healed many" (Mark 1:33-34 NIV). The next morning another crowd of needy people was waiting on His doorstep. But how Jesus responded this time might surprise you. "While it was still dark, Jesus...left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed...his companions went to look for him, and when they found him they exclaimed: 'Everyone is looking for you!' Jesus replied, 'Let us go somewhere else...so I can preach there also. That is why I have come'" (vs 35-38). What was He thinking! There were headlines to be made, people to be healed, and fans waiting to pat him on the back! Could you resist the lure of all that? Jesus did, because He followed God's agenda, not man's.

Jesus loved people so much that one day He would die for them. But that didn't stop Him from saying no when He needed to. Appeasing people in order to win their approval is never a good idea; it puts somebody other than God in the driver's seat. Instead of getting sidetracked, Jesus:

(a) made prayer and uninterrupted time with His Father a top priority
(b) recognized that doing God's will was more important than "being all things to all people"
(c) refused to let other people's definition of what was urgent, distract Him from fulfilling His life's purpose.
 

So don't get sidetracked.