Where will you turn during the holidays?

With Thanksgiving upon us and Christmas to follow, it's during these hectic days that spiritual disciplines seem to fall by the way side.  Between shopping, decorating, school programs, and church cantatas, time spent with the Lord often becomes an after-thought.  Sure, we continue to send up lightning prayers when we need him - like "I need patience with my sister at the holiday dinner table" or "I need help knowing what to buy my father in-law" or "I have too much to do Lord, I'm going crazy!" - but, when it comes right down to it, we neglect him thinking we're simply out of time and lacking stamina. But, the reality is, the busier you and I are the more we need Jesus!  Think how busy Jesus was when he walked on this earth.  Daily he was healing the sick, raising the dead, dealing with hypocritical religious leaders and continuously encouraging his doubting disciples.  Where did he get his strength?  Mark 1:35 tells us: “Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus went off by himself to pray.”   When times were tough and schedules busy, Jesus took time to get alone with his Father.  He knew that the help, the encouragement, the tenacity and the insight needed to maintain his rigorous schedule was only found in securing daily time for prayer and scripture reading.

During the approaching hectic holiday season, don’t neglect time with the Lord.  It's the only thing that will truly sustain you.