Luke 9:28-62; Genesis 16; Psalm 9

“Now it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.” (Luke 9:37 NKJV)

Wasn’t it great spending time with family and friends during the holidays. You may have thought something like, “I wish we could go on like this forever.” Peter had that same thought when he suggested that he, Jesus, James, and John celebrate the Festival of Booths with Moses and Elijah. Only, that couldn’t happen. They needed to come down from the mountain top. And just like you experienced the last couple of days, they were immediately hit with an overwhelming work load. The multitude met Jesus and demanded His time and energy. So much for that peaceful feeling; so much for the joy of a family reunion. Jesus sounded exasperated when they explained the major problem to Him, but He got down to work and healed the child who was demon-possessed. Then He had to deal with His disciples getting into petty arguments with each other and turf wars with people outside their select group. The exhilaration faded, and Jesus got back to work quickly.

Things probably happened a lot faster and more furious for you than you were ready for this week, didn’t they? Did you get exasperated? (Don’t feel too bad, Jesus did too.) However you felt about these last two days, even if you wished you could have had a few slow days to get back into the swing of things, did you get back on track in your work? Three cheers for you if you did! Whether you did, or you didn’t and you already can’t wait for Friday, remember that God has a plan for you where you are, and look forward to tomorrow as an opportunity to serve Him as you work.

Lord, it’s hard to come down from the mountaintop of good experiences we had during the holidays. Give us grace and strength to be able to do all of our work as if we’re working for You.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.