FROM SOLITUDE TO SIGNIFICANCE PART 5: CHARGE BEFORE YOU GO

FROM SOLITUDE TO SIGNIFICANCE

PART 5: CHARGE BEFORE YOU GO

Mark 1:35 (NLT)

“Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”

 

In Part 4, we established that being hidden does not mean being forgotten.

We learned that God often uses hidden seasons to develop our character, strengthen our faith, correct our motives, and prepare us for greater responsibility.

We discovered that God is not only interested in what we accomplish; He is also interested in who we become.

We also used the illustration of bread to understand the importance of process. Before bread reaches the table, it must pass through preparation. In the same way, we must not rush God's process simply because we are eager to fulfil our purpose.

We ended with this powerful truth:

Sometimes, God hides you because He is building you.

But now comes another question.

If God is building us in secret, how do we receive the strength to continue?

How do we face the demands of life without becoming spiritually empty?

How do we keep giving when people constantly need something from us?

The answer brings us to Part 5:

CHARGE BEFORE YOU GO

1. DON'T START YOUR DAY ON 5%

Imagine waking up in the morning, picking up your phone, and discovering that the battery is at 5%.

You know you have a long day ahead. You need to make calls. You need to send messages. You need to navigate your journey. You need to attend meetings. You need to communicate with people.

Yet your battery is almost empty. What do you do? You look for a charger. Why?

Because you understand that the demands ahead require power.

Now, think about your spiritual life.

You wake up.

You have responsibilities.

You have a family to care for.

You have work to do.

You have people to meet.

You have decisions to make.

You have temptations to resist.

You have challenges to face.

Yet, sometimes, you step into all these demands without spending even a moment intentionally seeking God.

You charge your phone but neglect your spiritual life. You check your notifications but fail to check the condition of your heart.

You prepare your body for the day but give little attention to your relationship with God.

If your phone needs charging before you use it throughout the day, shouldn't your spiritual life receive attention before you face the demands of the day?

Of course, prayer is not a mechanical battery, and our relationship with God is not a transaction. We are not earning His power by completing a morning routine.

Rather, we are making room to depend on Him.

Don't rush into the day without first turning your heart toward God.

2. JESUS SHOWED US THE IMPORTANCE OF STARTING WITH THE FATHER

Mark 1:35 gives us a deliberate picture of Jesus.

Before daybreak, He got up. He went to an isolated place. He prayed.

This was not an accidental encounter with God. Jesus intentionally withdrew to pray.

And look at what surrounded this moment.

In the preceding verses, Jesus had been ministering to people. He had healed the sick and dealt with those who needed help.

There was no shortage of people requiring His attention.

Yet, early the next morning, He withdrew to pray.

Then, in verses 36–37, His disciples came looking for Him.

“Everyone is looking for you.”

The needs were still there.

The people were still waiting.

The demands had not disappeared.

But Jesus had made time to pray.

Here is the lesson:

Jesus did not allow the demands of ministry to eliminate His time with the Father.

Sometimes, we make the mistake of believing that because we are busy doing God's work, we no longer need to make time to be with God.

We become busy serving in church.

Busy preparing sermons.

Busy attending meetings.

Busy helping people.

Busy solving problems.

But being busy with the things of God is not the same as spending time with God.

Your work for God must never become a substitute for your walk with God.

3. CHARGE BEFORE THE PRESSURE

Why do we charge our phones before the battery dies? Because we anticipate the demands ahead. We know that the phone will be needed, so we prepare it.

In the same way, your time with God should not be limited to moments when life has already overwhelmed you.

Don't wait until temptation comes before you remember prayer.

Don't wait until confusion comes before you open Scripture.

Don't wait until fear grips your heart before you seek God's presence.

Don't wait until your marriage is struggling before you begin praying for your family.

Don't wait until pressure becomes unbearable before you remember that you need God.

Preparation is better than waiting until you are desperate.

Morning prayer does not mean that challenges will disappear.

It means you begin the day deliberately turning toward God, remembering His truth, surrendering your concerns, and seeking His wisdom for whatever lies ahead.

You may not know everything the day will bring. But you can begin the day remembering the One you depend on.

4. YOU CANNOT POUR OUT CONTINUALLY WITHOUT PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT FILLS YOU

Think about a water container.

If people continually draw water from it without replenishing the supply, eventually the container becomes empty.

Now consider your life.

People draw on your time.

Your family needs your attention.

Your church needs your service.

Your workplace requires your contribution.

Friends come to you for advice.

People bring you their burdens.

You are constantly giving something.

But what is happening within you?

Are you nurturing your relationship with God?

Are you allowing Scripture to renew your thinking?

Are you bringing your burdens to Him in prayer?

Are you creating room for spiritual growth?

Or are you continually pouring out while neglecting your own spiritual nourishment?

Here is an important truth:

You cannot neglect your inner life indefinitely without it affecting your outer life.

You may continue functioning for a while.

You may continue smiling.

You may continue serving.

But outward activity does not always reveal inward health.

That is why you must intentionally cultivate your relationship with God.

Not merely so you can have something to give others, but because God Himself is worthy of your attention, love, and fellowship.

5. YOUR CHARGING POINT MUST BE CONNECTED TO THE RIGHT SOURCE

Imagine having a charger that looks beautiful but is not connected to a power source.

You can plug your phone into it.

You can hold the phone beside it.

You can even leave it there for hours.

But if no power is reaching the charger, your battery will not charge.

The appearance of connection is not the same as actual connection.

The same can happen in our spiritual lives.

We can attend church without cultivating personal fellowship with God.

We can listen to sermons without practising what Scripture teaches.

We can post Bible verses without allowing God's Word to challenge our own behaviour.

We can talk about prayer without making time to pray.

We can surround ourselves with Christian activities and still neglect our personal walk with God.

Being around spiritual things is not the same as intentionally seeking God.

Mark 1:35 does not tell us that Jesus merely went to a religious gathering.

It tells us that He went to an isolated place to pray.

There was personal engagement.

There was intentional communion.

There was time set apart for the Father.

So, when you wake up tomorrow, don't simply ask:

“What Christian activity can I do today?”

Ask yourself:

“How will I intentionally make room for God today?”

Open His Word.

Pray honestly.

Reflect on what you read.

Bring your plans before Him.

Ask for wisdom.

Confess what needs to be confessed.

And be willing to obey what He teaches you.

6. REMOVE WHAT DRAINS YOUR ATTENTION

Sometimes the problem is not that we have no time for God. The problem is that other things consume the time we have.

You wake up intending to pray.

Then you pick up your phone.

One notification leads to another.

A message becomes a conversation.

A conversation leads to social media.

Social media leads to another video.

Before you realise it, the morning is gone.

You have given your first attention to everything except the One you intended to seek.

This is why Jesus' example is so challenging.

He deliberately went to an isolated place.

He created distance between Himself and the demands surrounding Him.

We may not need to travel to a remote location every morning, but we do need to make deliberate choices about distractions.

Perhaps you need to leave your phone in another room.

Perhaps you need to wake up fifteen minutes earlier.

Perhaps you need to find a quiet corner before the household becomes busy.

Perhaps you need to stop allowing social media to dictate how your morning begins.

The issue is not that every distraction is evil.

The issue is that even good things can occupy the place that belongs to what matters most.

Protect your attention.

Because what repeatedly receives your attention can eventually shape your priorities.

7. DON'T WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE EMPTY BEFORE YOU SEEK GOD

Some people only pray when there is a problem.

When the money finishes, they pray.

When sickness comes, they pray.

When a relationship breaks down, they pray.

When a door closes, they pray.

When danger appears, they pray.

And thank God that we can call upon Him in every situation. But prayer is more than an emergency response.

God is not merely the person we call when everything else fails. He is the Father with whom we are invited to walk daily.

Think about a relationship.

If you only call someone when you need money, assistance, or a favour, the relationship becomes centred on what that person can do for you.

But genuine relationship involves more than requests.

It involves communication.

Attention.

Trust.

Love.

Presence.

The same principle challenges our approach to God.

Do you seek Him only when you need His hand?

Or do you also seek His heart?

Do you pray only when you need an answer?

Or do you make room to worship, listen, learn, and enjoy His presence?

Don't make the secret place an emergency room that you visit only when life hurts. Make it a place of daily fellowship with your Father.

8. CHARGE BEFORE YOU SERVE

Return to Mark 1:37.

The disciples told Jesus:

“Everyone is looking for you.”

People were waiting for Him.

The needs were real.

His ministry mattered.

But notice the sequence in the passage.

Jesus withdrew to pray, and then the disciples came looking for Him.

This teaches us an important principle about serving others.

Before you allow the demands of people to consume your attention, establish your dependence on God.

As a parent, you need wisdom to raise your children.

As a spouse, you need patience, love, and understanding.

As a church leader, you need discernment and humility.

As a worker, you need integrity and discipline.

As a student, you need concentration and perseverance.

As a friend, you need compassion.

You cannot always control what the day will bring. But you can deliberately bring your heart, concerns, and responsibilities before God.

You can ask Him to help you respond with wisdom rather than anger, faith rather than fear, and humility rather than pride.

You need God's wisdom before you face the day's decisions, and His grace as you walk through them.

9. A CHARGED LIFE IS NOT A PROBLEM-FREE LIFE

We must understand this clearly. Spending time with God in the morning does not guarantee that everything will go according to plan.

You may pray and still encounter disappointment.

You may read Scripture and still face difficult decisions.

You may worship and still experience grief.

You may seek God and still have to wait for an answer. Jesus Himself faced opposition and suffering.

So the purpose of your morning routine is not to control every circumstance. 

It is not a formula for making every day successful by worldly standards.

It is not a guarantee that you will never feel weak.

Rather, it is a daily practice of turning toward God and learning to depend on Him in every circumstance.

Some mornings, you may feel spiritually encouraged.

Other mornings, you may feel tired, burdened, or distracted.

Show up anyway.

Not to impress God.

Not to earn His love.

But because your relationship with Him matters.

Your feelings may change from day to day, but you can keep making room for fellowship with Him.

10. BUILD A MORNING ROUTINE YOU CAN SUSTAIN

You don't need to begin with an elaborate programme. Start with something practical and consistent. Here is one way to structure your time with God.

STEP 1: ACKNOWLEDGE GOD

Before reaching for your phone, turn your attention to God. Thank Him for life and entrust the day to Him.

STEP 2: READ SCRIPTURE

Read a passage slowly. Ask what it reveals about God, what it teaches you, and how you should respond.

STEP 3: PRAY

Pray about your relationship with God, your character, your family, your responsibilities, your decisions, and the needs of others.

STEP 4: BE STILL AND REFLECT

Don't rush through the process simply to say you have finished. Take time to think about what you have read and prayed.

STEP 5: SURRENDER YOUR DAY

Bring your plans before God. Ask for wisdom, strength, and the willingness to obey Him, even when His direction challenges your preferences.

STEP 6: TAKE THE WORD WITH YOU

Identify one truth to remember and one practical action to practise throughout the day. You could begin with fifteen minutes and increase the time as your routine develops.

The goal is not to compare your routine with someone else's. The goal is to build a meaningful, sustainable pattern of fellowship with God.

Don't pursue an impressive routine while neglecting a genuine relationship.

REMEMBER THIS

Before your phone faces the demands of the day, you charge it.

Before your body faces the day's activities, you prepare it.

Before your mind handles the day's decisions, you gather information.

But what about your relationship with God?

Will you step into the day without intentionally making room for Him?

Mark 1:35 reminds us that Jesus deliberately withdrew to pray, even when people needed Him.

His example challenges us to make room for God amid the demands of life.

Don't wait until you are exhausted.

Don't wait until you are confused.

Don't wait until everyone is looking for you.

CHARGE BEFORE YOU GO.

Meet God before you meet the day.

Seek His wisdom before making your decisions.

Allow His Word to shape your thinking.

Bring your burdens into prayer.

And remember that your time with God is not simply preparation for doing more.

It is also an opportunity to know Him more deeply.

Before you go out to face the world, go in to meet God.

Reflection

What receives your first attention every morning?

Do you begin your day by intentionally turning your heart toward God, or do the demands of life take over before you have made room for Him?

Are you treating prayer as an emergency response, or are you cultivating a daily relationship with your heavenly Father?

What one practical change can you make tomorrow to protect your time with God?

Remember:

Don't allow the demands of the day to consume the time you need to seek the One who will guide you through it.

Prayer

Father, thank You for the privilege of coming into Your presence. Forgive us for the times we have allowed the busyness of life to push You to the margins of our day. Teach us to seek You, not only when we need help, but because we desire to know You more deeply. Give us the discipline to create time for prayer and the reading of Your Word. Help us to remove unnecessary distractions and develop a consistent life of fellowship with You. As we face our responsibilities, give us wisdom for our decisions, patience in our relationships, courage in our challenges, and grace to obey Your will.

When we feel weak, remind us to depend on You. When we become busy, remind us to return to Your presence. May our lives be shaped by Your truth and our actions reflect the work You are doing within us. Teach us to meet You before we meet the demands of the day. In Jesus' name, Amen.

NEXT PART

We have established that before we go out to face the demands of the day, we must make room to meet God.

But here is another important question:

What happens when the people we serve begin demanding more of us than we expected?

What do we do when everyone wants our attention, everyone needs our help, and everyone is looking for us?

How do we remain faithful to God without allowing the demands of people to control our lives?

In Part 6, we will look at:

WHEN EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR YOU

Because being needed by everyone does not mean you should be directed by everyone.

God is speaking, are you listening?

Prince Julius Nenebi-Darkson

(EL-PJ God’s penman)