The Crowd

If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death. ~ Exodus 16:3

Ever heard of "crowd mentality"? It's where a crowd of people follows the actions and words of the loudest voice in the crowd--even when those words or actions are illogical and illegal. They do it because no one wants to be the odd man out. Everyone wants to "fit in," so they follow the crowd. In a crowd, a single person may speak out about what's right, but they are usually trampled on and their words stamped out by those of the rest of the crowd.

Jesus, however, throughout His ministry, would separate Himself from the crowds to pray. He knew that if He was to find the strength to endure, He would have to spend regular, quality time with the person who could supply Him with everything He needed--His heavenly Father. We need to follow Jesus' example. The crowd is a great place to reach many people all at once, but it can be very draining. If we are to maintain a pure heart, wisdom, and strength, we must follow Jesus' lead and separate ourselves from the crowd to be alone with our heavenly Father to listen, to learn, and to pray. Alone time with God must become our first priority.

If we are to do the will of our heavenly Father, then we will need His wisdom and His strength to carry it out. When we draw closer to God, He promises to draw closer to us to love on us, encourage us, and strengthen us. Be sure to spend the time drawing closer to your heavenly Father today.

Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. ~ James 4:8