What To Do When You Need Clarity

“… when He (Jesus) was alone with His disciples, He explained everything to them.” Mark 4:34b (NLT) 

If your Christian experience is anything like mine, you find yourself walking in a fog at times.  You need clarity for decisions and direction. Even the great Apostle Paul, who wrote so much of the New Testament, said: “Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)    

While only heaven will offer perfect clarity, how do we find it until then?  The Gospel of Mark records how Jesus used many stories and illustrations to teach people as much as they could understand.  Still, even His disciples often walked away wondering what He meant by the things He said.   

“In fact, in His public ministry He never taught without using parables; but afterward, when He was alone with His disciples, He explained everything to them.” Mark 4:34 (NLT)   

Here’s the insight we need.  Time alone with Jesus brings clarity.  When you find yourself in a fog about what to do, get alone with Jesus in His Word.  Do what Jesus so often did.   

•  “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” (Mark 1:35 NLT)  

• “But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.”  (Luke 5:16 NLT)

• “Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and He prayed to God all night.  At daybreak He called together all of His disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.” (Luke 6:12-13 NLT)  

Whether it was the need for daily communion or with regard to major decisions, Jesus routinely spent time alone with the Father in prayer.  Find an isolated place to be alone with Jesus.  As you do, you’ll find strength for the day, wisdom for decisions and peace to calm your heart.  God’s Word, as revealed in Scripture, will become a light for your path.