Crowds

“Everyone is asking for You.” Mark 1:37

Sometimes we may feel like we are pulled on every side. If we have children, there is always something each one needs, even the one who is not asking for anything. Perhaps it is she or he who needs us the most. Sometimes the only place to be alone is the toilet, and even there our concerns follow us. It may be a sick husband, mom or dad we need to take care of. At the office, the work piles up and we cannot decide what to do first. In our church or prayer community, there are people to pray for, to comfort, to visit, to help. There are always crowds of people or tasks that need our attention. 

There were crowds around Jesus as well, clamoring insistently that He touch them. Many sick and demon-possessed people from all over Capernaum went to Him and he healed them of their different ailments. No wonder people followed Him around. But He always rose long before daybreak to go to the wilderness alone to pray. 

If Jesus needed time alone with His Father, to talk to Him, to listen to Him, to just be with Him, how much more do we? I am sure Jesus felt tired. His immortality was encased in an unwieldy mortal frame. If He pleaded with His Father once, “Take this cup away from me!”, I am sure He asked for more strength, more energy, more time, to do all He wanted to do. He can understand us so much now because of what He went through when He was trudging the earth in His dusty feet. He understands our frustration, our weariness, our need for grace. 

In Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, he wrote, “Because He Himself was tested through what He suffered, He is able to help those who are being tested.” (Hebrews 2:18) He sees us with compassionate eyes, He listens to us when we go into our own wilderness to pray, He intercedes for us constantly with His Father (Hebrews 7:25). 

Thank You, Jesus, I too am one of the crowd around You, but You see me.