As a reading teacher for several years, frequently one of the hardest skills to teach was making inferences. As adults, we know that “reading between the lines” is not only a reading skill, it’s also a life skill.

At the end of his accounting, the Apostle John, tells us that Scripture can’t possibly contain all the details of Jesus’s ministry. Still, there are times for this retired teacher of reading that inference can be a challenge.

There are so many other things Jesus did. If they were all written down, each of them, one by one, I can’t imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books.

John 21:25 MSG

In chapter four of the Book of Luke, I jumped right over inferencing and straight to baffled.

Early the next morning he went out into the desert. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them but to stay at Capernaum. But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other places too, for that is why I was sent.”

Luke 4:42-43 TLB

Maybe it was knowing just how quickly and ugly people can turn in the gospels of Jesus’s ministry. Maybe I hadn’t had my capuccino, or there was a recent misunderstanding with someone. Nevertheless, I couldn’t wrap my head around Jesus leaving people who wanted to hear and learn more from Him. Why would Jesus want to leave a group of people who longed to be with Him? My myopic perspective needed some adjusting.

I’m so thankful to dear friends who gave me a copy of Matthew Henry’s Commentary years ago when I was writing and leading Bible studies. His insights drove home the need to dig deeper at times, make an inferential leap of faith, in our study of Scripture.

This passage in Luke (+ Henry) was jam-packed with exactly what my spirit needed! Here are three nuggets I gleaned:

. . . he went into a desert place to be sometimes alone with God, even as those should should be . . . that are most engaged in public work. They will find themselves never less alone then than when thus alone.

M. Henry

Often times, I feel like I snatch or steal moments with the Lord, sitting in my chair by the window, the only sound in the house being the cat’s snoring. How crazy is it for me to feel guilty for sitting in the Lord’s Presence? He always meets me there. It is in those moments, sometimes silent, sometimes face dripping with tears . . . He always meets me. They are the moments that keep me going, and the more I interact with others, the more I need them.

Though a desert place may be a convenient retreat, yet it is not a convenient residence, because we were not sent into this world to live to ourselves.

M.henry

It’s taken nearly a lifetime to recognize and admit it, Dear Reader, but I’m a closet introvert. There are times when leaving my comfortable, a.k.a. safe, nest is more than I can bear. I hesitate, and long to linger in God’s Presence, and truly believe He loves our moments together as much, or more than, I do. Alas, that is not where He has called me to serve. I must venture from the harbor of my front door.

It ought not to discourage the ministers of Christ that some reject them, for they will meet with others that will welcome them, and their message . . .

M.henry

Working with the Buddy Bag Project, Inc. frequently takes me out of my comfort zone. I was prepared for those who are uncomfortable with even a distant confrontation between themselves and God’s homeless children. And, I’m not so naive to think every interaction will result in an enthusiastic commitment of resources.

But, Dear Reader, I’m overwhelmingly thankful for the many Buddy Bag Partners the Lord has brought alongside to minister to some of His kids that struggle to live beyond our neighborhoods.

Alice’s “jam-packed” takeaways from Luke & Henry:

• Time with God is requisite to me fulfilling His call on my life;
• God’s call sends me to His children;
• The Lord is a master at syncronizing the encouragement of His Word with the needs in my life.