God Always Has Time for You

We all know the feeling. We have all experienced that time when we felt alone in our struggle. Even though we were surrounded by people, we felt alone without anyone to help us. Just when we think we are out of time, just when we think we have nobody, God is there.

At that time, the apostles returned to Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a lonely place, and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a lonely place by themselves. Now many saw them going, and knew them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns, and got there ahead of them. As he went ashore he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.” But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” Then he commanded them all to sit down by companies upon the green grass. So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men. Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

Mark 6.30-45

We normally think of today’s passage in terms of the miracle of feeding thousands of people with just a few loaves of bread and two fish. Like always, there is always more to the miracle than ‘just’ the miracle. Today I invite you to pay attention to Christ’s attitude toward the crowd.

Go back and read the passage again. This time I want you to notice how Christ and the apostles have been going all day long without a break and needed some rest. “All” they wanted was a rest, but the crowed persisted. We are the crowd in this passage.

Despite the late hour. Despite the lack of rest. Despite the lack of food. Christ didn’t abandon the crowd. “He had compassion on them” because “they were like sheep without a shepherd.” They must have felt like we do, alone amid a crowd. They were not alone.

If you are feeling alone in the crowd, even in Church on Sunday, I invite you to remember this passage. Remember that God will not walk away from you. He will not leave you to fend for yourself in “a lonely place”. He will always have time for you.

But here’s the other side of the passage. The crowd went to Jesus. They didn’t sequester themselves, crying tears of loneliness. They stood up and found the place where Jesus was. In our case that ‘place’ is the Church. If you feel alone in your struggle, come to the Church.

Even if there are not services taking place, every Orthodox Christian Church has the real physical presence of God waiting for you. As Christ promised the Jews in the desert, He also promises us to be present in the Church. “Also, you shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will appear among you. (Exodus 25.8)

All that remains is for us to seek Him out and come to Him. He was always have time for you.