Go To Your Room!

Go To Your Room!

^{“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”}

^{Matthew 6:6 NIV}

    ^{Here we are, smack dab in the middle of Holy Week. Heavy on my mind today is the picture of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before He was crucified and after the last meal He shared with His disciples. In a way, it almost feels like God was saying, “Go to your room!”}

    ^{“Go to your room, shut the door, and think about what you’ve done!” As a kid I hated those words. Being sent to my room as a child was the worst! I was expected to lie on the bed and do nothing but think about why I had been sent there. There were no video games, no stereo, no television, no computer and no telephone in my room. Just the bed, the dresser, my desk and sheer boredom.}

    ^{If my parents were lucky, the boredom put me to sleep for a while and gave them some relief, but usually the punishment served its purpose. I lay there staring at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of my siblings playing outside. I vowed not to repeat my offense if they would ever let me out of that bed room!}

    ^{As I grew up in my faith, I don’t mind when God sends me to my room. Now it’s not as a punishment but a haven. In the late hours of that Maundy Thursday night, did Jesus feel that God had “sent Him to His room” for something He had done? Jesus knew what was going to happen the next day. So, there in the garden, He prayed.}

    ^{When life doesn’t go the way I want it to go, God calls me to my room. He’s there, waiting for me. There I can close the door on temptation and shut myself in with God. As I pray for strength to overcome the pull of sin, there in the quiet of my room, He pours His strength into me. As He knelt there in the Garden of Gethsemane, the human part of Jesus must surely have hungered for God’s strength to face what was coming. “Not My will but Yours be done,” Jesus prayed. And God’s strength reminded Him that, even though His disciples were sleeping while He was praying, His Father had heard every word.}

    ^{Are you weary, my friend? Is the weight of responsibility or temptation weighing heavily on you?  Go to your room! Meet with the Lord your God and receive His strength.}

^{Thanks for reading Pastor Dale’s Mid-Week Encouragement. If you’re a regular attender or member of the Mt. Laurel Church of God, please consider reading  John 20:1-18 to get ready to hear God’s message through him this coming Sunday, April 20, 2025. And don’t forget that worship begins at 10:00 am, not 10:30!  Why not consider joining us in the cemetery at 6:00 am for Sunrise worship?}

Called to pray for you, teach you and encourage you in your faith,

^{Pastor Dale}

Pastor Dale (PD) and Pamela his wife are honored to serve the Mt. Laurel Church of God. If this Mid-Week Encouragement has helped you, perhaps it may encourage someone else. Feel free to share this message with anyone you choose. And if you'd like to receive PD's Mid-Week Encouragement, just send an email to (kingdomguy@gmail.com) and I'll accommodate your request.