Seasons of refreshing come from meeting with Jesus. It’s important to meet with Him; it’s how we get to know Him.

2 Desire [to know Christ] without knowledge [taking time to get to know Him] is not good–how much more will hasty feet [too busy to stop and spend quality time with Him in prayer, Bible study, and fellowship/worship] miss the way.
3 A person’s own folly [thinking that he knows best] leads to their ruin [the missing of the blessing of a close relationship with the LORD], yet their heart rages against the LORD [as if it’s His fault that they wouldn’t take time to meet with Him!].

In Mark 5, we read the account of Jairus the synagogue ruler and the healing of his daughter. We also find the account of the woman who had been ill for 12 years. Each of these people had an encounter with Jesus. Do you think they were grateful? I sure do! I wonder if they desired more time with Jesus? Did they follow Him from then on?

How about you? From what did Jesus set you free when you encountered Jesus? Were you grateful? Are you still grateful? Do you desire more time with Him? The good news is that WE CAN HAVE MORE TIME WITH HIM. He calls us every day to set aside some time for just you and Him. Don’t be in such a hurry (and full of yourself) that you miss out on the TRUE BLESSING of your salvation.

Take a look at the disciples in verse 40, “After He put them all out [of the house], He took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with Him [Peter, John and James (Luke 8:51)], and went in where the child was.” What was the purpose of these three getting to witness this miracle? These three also got to experience the Mount of Transfiguration (see Mark 9:2-8). When we look at history, God used these three in extraordinary ways in building His Church. We get to hear from them each time we read their letters in our Bibles. In fact, we get to experience their experiences as we read about them because Jesus affirms in our hearts the truth of these experiences. He opens our minds to what He was showing them: His divinity. Our faith (our hope and trust, our reliance) is increased when we read these encounters in His Word.

In many ways, we are still in school. We are learning to be godly even as we learn what godliness is. One of my favorite verses is Titus 2:12, “It [the grace of God] teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…” God’s grace, which is the active ingredient in our salvation, a.k.a. the Holy Spirit, teaches us. There are times for instruction and then times of practice; there are times of demonstration and then times of experimentation where we try out what we have learned. If we keep this concept in mind, it will help us to discipline ourselves and spend the time and effort with the LORD we need to learn how to be like Him.

Are you truly grateful? Then apply yourself to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, the study of Scriptures, and talking about the LORD with those around you–family, friends, strangers at Wal-mart, etc.

Abba, I pray that You will become bigger and bigger in our lives so that being with You and being like You becomes our biggest desire. May we see You in action around us and join You in Your work. Open our eyes, LORD, to You and what You are doing in the lives of those around us even as we spend intimate time with You. Amen.