Mark 3:13 –19 – Dealing with the demands of life

From the ministry schedule of our Lord, everyone can tell that He had a full load every day. How did He manage the demands of the ministry?  From these verses we shall see the Lord’s strategy when the demands increased. Mark tells us that the first thing He did was to withdraw to the mountain side to be alone. The point is this: our Lord got away to be by Himself. In the midst of ministry and the mounting work, He just went away from the crowd to be alone. Perhaps to reflect, to re-calibrate and to be re-energized. 

What did the Lord do when He went away for His retreat?  In Luke 6:12, the parallel account to this one, we are told that he spent a whole night praying. What else did He do when the pressure mount? He called to Himself people whom He could share the ministry load with. Verses 14-19 tell us the names of the 12 people He called and designated as apostles.

The purpose of calling the 12 was so that they could be with Him, to be sent out to preach and to have authority over the demons. Notice the process is first to be with Him. People who want to serve Christ must know Him first and foremost. This is about experiencing Him in life and not knowing Him just in the mind. This is the “with Him” principle that we all need. Divine enablement comes by being with Him. Let’s never run ahead in our priority when it comes to serving God and ministering on His behalf. He wants us to be with Him first and to know Him, before we go out and work for Him. Out of the 12 apostles, eleven dynamically served Him and some of them died gallantly.

In these few verses we learn some very precious lessons from the Lord when demands of life increased. He called time out to be alone. Not just to squander the time away doing nothing, He spent the time praying. Then He surrounded Himself with people whom He could impart His life and share the load.  

When overwhelmed by the demands of life, take a cue from the Lord. We need time alone, and also time with the Lord. We need to spend those moments in prayer. When we get into this spiritual habit we align our will with God’s. When in alignment with God’s will, there’s no telling as to what can happen to us, whether it be in our character, vision, inspiration and resourcefulness. In contact with God in prayer, we will definitely be spiritually charged. Healthy body, clear mind, strengthened spirit, pure moral and supernatural enablement are all released in prayer.  Let us find time to be alone, to pray and to be with Jesus so that we will find the strength to speak for Jesus!