Into the Woods // The Habit of Jesus

Sep 13, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Habits Create Ripples

A keystone habit isn’t just a routine—it’s a catalyst. Like exercise reshaping diet or sleep patterns, certain practices quietly transform other areas of life. Jesus modeled this through rhythms of withdrawal, not just to escape chaos but to recalibrate his purpose. His retreats weren’t reactive pauses but proactive anchors, creating ripples that sustained his mission. What if our habits could do more than check boxes? What if they realigned our entire posture toward God? [01:47]

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
(Mark 1:35, ESV)

Reflection: What single habit, if prioritized, might create positive ripples in your spiritual life? How could withdrawing like Jesus help you face demands with clarity instead of chaos?

Day 2: The Rhythm of Retreats, Not Randomness

Jesus didn’t wait for crises to withdraw. He carved out solitude before teaching crowds, after miracles, and amid grief. His retreats weren’t emergency exits but steady rhythms. For us, the “woods” might mean silencing phones, sitting in a parked car, or waking before dawn. Consistency, not convenience, kept Jesus centered. What if our busiest seasons became invitations to withdraw more, not less? [24:01]

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
(Luke 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you most often seek God—in chaos or in quiet? How might a rhythmic retreat, even for five minutes today, shift your perspective?

Day 3: Preparation, Not Panic, in the Wilderness

Before choosing disciples or facing crucifixion, Jesus retreated. The wilderness wasn’t a detour—it was his launchpad. He let solitude shape his decisions rather than letting urgency hijack them. Our “wilderness” might be a walk, a journal, or a breath prayer before a meeting. What if today’s overwhelming task became an invitation to withdraw first? [18:38]

“After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.”
(Matthew 4:1–2, ESV)

Reflection: What decision or demand feels urgent today? How might pausing to withdraw, even briefly, prepare you to face it like Jesus?

Day 4: Presence Over Productivity in the Quiet

Jesus didn’t use solitude to “get things done” with God. He simply dwelt there. Like sharing silence with a spouse or laughing with a child, being present—not productive—deepens relationship. The “Eramos” is where we trade to-do lists for trust, letting God’s nearness recalibrate our hearts. What if today’s quiet moment wasn’t about outcomes but intimacy? [28:33]

“Be still, and know that I am God.”
(Psalm 46:10, ESV)

Reflection: When you withdraw, do you rush to speak or make space to listen? What would it look like to simply “be” with God today?

Day 5: Clarity Comes From the Woods, Not the Noise

Exhaustion, cynicism, and short fuses often signal a soul lagging behind a hectic body. Jesus’ disciples returned from ministry drained, and he prescribed the “Eramos”—not more effort. Solitude lets our souls catch up, replacing frenzy with focus. What if the answer to overwhelm isn’t working harder but retreating sooner? [33:34]

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
(Mark 6:31, ESV)

Reflection: Where is your soul “lagging behind” your body today? What one step could you take to accept Jesus’ invitation to restful clarity?

Sermon Summary

Life can get overwhelming fast. The calendars fill up, the notifications keep coming, the demands multiply, and people can end up rushing and rushing without even knowing why. The difference between good habits and better habits matters here, because some habits are keystone habits. Keystone habits create a ripple effect that changes other areas of life, like exercise naturally affecting food, sleep, and daily choices.

Jesus models one of the most important keystone habits in the Gospels: withdrawing into the wilderness, the quiet place, the solitary place, the eremos. Jesus goes into the woods before His public ministry begins, immediately after the Father announces that He is the beloved Son. Jesus does not rush out to prove Himself with miracles or build a crowd. Jesus dwells before He does.

The eremos keeps showing up throughout Jesus’ life. Jesus retreats after feeding the crowds, after hearing of John the Baptist’s death, before choosing the twelve disciples, and before facing arrest and crucifixion. Jesus also goes away at times when no obvious crisis, decision, or big event seems to drive Him there. The pattern shows that His relationship with the eremos is not random, but rhythmic. His withdrawal is not circumstantial, but consistent.

Jesus never seems rushed, even when crowds surround Him and needs press in from every direction. Jesus slows down for sick people, hurting people, grieving people, and people nobody else has time for. The Gospels connect that different rhythm to His repeated time alone with the Father. The more demanding life becomes, the more Jesus withdraws.

The quiet place does not remove the craziness of life. The eremos changes the way people walk through the craziness. Communion with God gives space to simply be present with Him, without needing to perform or be productive. Renewal gives the soul time to catch up when the body has been running ahead mentally, emotionally, and physically. Clarity recenters life around the next faithful step, even when every problem does not suddenly have a clear answer.

Jesus invites tired disciples to come with Him to a quiet place and get some rest. The same invitation reaches people whose faith feels distant, whose silence feels uncomfortable, whose stress will not let up, or whose short fuse is hurting the people they love most. The question is not merely whether someone occasionally goes into the woods with God. The question is whether that relationship is random or rhythmic, circumstantial or consistent.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus dwelled before He did. Jesus did not begin ministry by chasing momentum, proving Himself, or gathering a crowd. The Father’s declaration of love was followed by wilderness, not performance. Time with God reminds believers that identity comes before activity, and communion matters before accomplishment. [28:33]
2. The eremos must become rhythmic. Jesus did not wait until life broke down before He withdrew to pray. His time with the Father was consistent, even when no immediate crisis required it. A life that only seeks God in emergencies will treat the source of strength like a last resort. [23:45]
3. Demand should lead to deeper withdrawal. Crowds, needs, exhaustion, and pressure did not make Jesus neglect the quiet place. The more demanding His life became, the more He withdrew. Busyness may feel like evidence that there is no time for God, but Jesus shows that busyness is often the very reason to make time. [25:21]
4. The quiet place renews the soul. Sleep can help the body, but it cannot always reach the deeper fatigue that comes from carrying too much for too long. The eremos gives the heart and mind a chance to catch up to the body. God’s presence offers a kind of rest that distraction, productivity, and temporary fixes cannot provide. [30:18]
5. Clarity comes through God’s presence. The quiet place does not necessarily hand out easy answers for every difficult situation. God’s presence brings clarity about priorities, relationships, and the next faithful step. The eremos helps believers reenter the noise of life remembering who they are called to love and how they are called to follow Jesus.

## [31:22]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:24] - Keystone Habits Create Ripple Effects
[03:13] - Life Feels Overwhelming
[08:59] - Jesus Understands Pressure
[10:42] - Jesus Withdraws Into the Woods
[12:16] - Jesus Begins in the Wilderness
[15:19] - The Meaning of Eremos
[18:38] - When Jesus Went to the Quiet Place
[21:15] - Rhythmic, Not Random
[25:21] - The More Demanding Life Became
[28:00] - Communion, Renewal, and Clarity
[32:04] - Come With Me and Rest
[34:48] - Assessing the Relationship With Eremos
[38:49] - Random or Rhythmic

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 4:1-2
“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” [14:12]

Mark 1:35
“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” [21:33]

Luke 5:16
“But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.” [25:15]

Mark 6:31-32
“And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.” [33:32]

Observation questions

In Matthew 4:1-2, what happens immediately before Jesus begins His public ministry, and what does He face in the wilderness? [14:12]
According to Mark 1:35, what details show that Jesus intentionally made space to pray rather than simply praying whenever it was convenient? [22:35]
In Luke 5:16, what was happening around Jesus when He often withdrew to desolate places and prayed? [25:00]
In Mark 6:31-32, what signs show that the disciples needed rest, and what specific invitation did Jesus give them? [33:12]

Interpretation questions

Jesus was declared God’s beloved Son at His baptism, and then He entered the wilderness before beginning His public ministry. What does this order suggest about identity, communion with God, and the pressure to prove oneself through activity? [28:35]
Luke says Jesus “would withdraw” to desolate places and pray. Why does this repeated pattern matter more than only turning to God during a crisis? [23:59]
Jesus withdrew even while crowds were gathering and needs were pressing in. What does this show about the relationship between a demanding life and time alone with God? [25:25]
In Mark 6, Jesus invited tired disciples to come away and rest. What kind of rest might Jesus be offering that goes deeper than simply getting more sleep? [30:42]

Application questions

When life gets full, what is usually the first thing that gets pushed aside—prayer, Scripture, silence, rest, or something else? What does that reveal about the current relationship with the quiet place? [24:31]
Is time with God currently more random or rhythmic, more circumstantial or consistent? What patterns or pressures tend to make it difficult to protect that time? [39:02]
Where is life especially demanding right now—work, family, finances, grief, health, decisions, or constant notifications? Rather than waiting for things to fall apart, what could it look like to bring that pressure to God this week? [25:39]
Does God feel distant, or does silence feel uncomfortable or threatening right now? What might make it easier to begin being honestly present with God, without trying to perform or be productive? [35:38]
Are there signs that the soul is falling behind the body—such as anxious thoughts, exhaustion that sleep has not fixed, anger, cynicism, or a short fuse with loved ones? Which sign stands out most, and how might time with God address it? [36:40]
Jesus’ quiet place brought communion, renewal, and clarity. Which of those is most needed right now: being present with God, rest for the soul, or clarity about the next faithful step? Why? [31:20]
Think about one difficult person, unresolved situation, or major responsibility that will still be waiting tomorrow. What would it mean to reenter that situation focused not on solving everything at once, but on taking the next faithful step with Jesus? [31:35]

Sermon Clips

18s

#PlaceOfStrength

“It changes your perspective on the things that you're walking through, the things that you're navigating. It's not a sign of weakness, it's not a sign of defeat, it's not like, oh, I gotta go spend time with God because things have fallen apart. No. It's a place of strength, It's a place of refreshing. It's a place where our lives are gonna be transformed.”

40s

#ConsistentSoulRest

“The quiet place with God is that it's the place that gives our soul a chance to catch up to everything else that's happening. But we have to be consistent about it. We have to be proactive, not reactive. And when we do that, we'll experience a rest that that sleep can't, you know, lack of sleep or getting enough sleep won't won't fix or change. We can experience the kind of de stressing that, wine and alcohol won't fix as much as we try to have that fix things. And then it changes that and then the third thing is it changes the way that we enter the craziness of life because it gives us clarity on what's happening in our lives. It helps us recenter our lives.”

19s

#RhythmicRetreat

“We're gonna pick up right there next week in part two of this series and talk about what that looks like. But for today, I just I want to make sure we're all asking the question. Is that time in the woods, is that time in the wilderness, that time that I spent with God, is it random or is it rhythmic? Is it consistent or is it circumstantial?”

33s

#RetreatResilience

“I think one of the things it means for us is that withdrawing and getting that alone time with God and retreating and going into the woods, it's not going to fix our overwhelming lives. Our lives will continue to be overwhelming. It doesn't resolve the the the craziness or the stress of life. That stuff's just gonna happen. But I will tell you this, that withdrawing and retreating, going into the woods with our heavenly father, absolutely will change the way that you walk through the overwhelming nature of life.”

34s

#RetreatBeforeDecisions

“He he did it right before making a big decision of choosing his 12 disciples. When we have a big decision laid out in front of us, we should probably, you know, go out into the woods, into the Erasmus, and spend time with our heavenly father. He did it just before facing difficult things and he did it just after experiencing some big losses. So when we experience those things or know those things are coming, we can go into the aramos and spend time with God. He did it right after his miracle. So he was he was probably drained from performing this miracle. And so maybe for us when we're tired and we're drained, we should consider going into the woods with our God.”

27s

#RetreatForClarity

“The being in the Aramos, that quiet time with God, it reminds us of things like, hey, that you know that person that's really difficult for you to love right now? I've called you to love that person. It it reminds us, reminds us of the things in our lives that are are the priorities. This this should be the priority for for my life today. It doesn't simplify our lives, but it brings clarity. It makes our lives clearer.”

20s

#RestAsRhythm

“And that is the invite that I believe he he is extending to you, and I believe he is extending to me. He's extending to all of us to do the exact same thing, to get away and find rest for our souls. Again, Jesus getting away and finding rest, getting into the woods was rhythmic. It was not random. It was consistent, not circumstantial.”

24s

#PresenceOverProductivity

“The first one is this, getting alone with God is that place where you experience communion with God. It's where you can actually be present with God. It's where you can go and be with God and not have to worry about what you what you need to do in that in that moment or what you need to do that day. It's a chance for you to be, just just present without worrying about productivity.”

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