Most driven people do not retreat well. I used to be one of them. I grew up under the notion that the more spiritual (and manly) you were, the harder you pressed and worked. This is not an argument against working hard and pushing through in difficult situations. I think most leaders do that in relatively automatic fashion. What I am advocating is what has been taught to me in the last 10 years… the power of unplugging.

The reason I’m writing about it now is that I have been powerfully unplugged for the last few days in an attempt to live out what I believe. Here are a few of the reasons I believe – and have been reminded of the last few days – that retreating is so energizing.

1. I live tired… retreating affords me time for extra rest.
2. I live distracted… retreating gives me permission to turn off the electronics (all of them).
3. I live divided… retreating gives me time to evaluate my priorities & match my choices to my goals.

For reasons like these (and many others), I will never apologize for retreating. I will return home tomorrow feeling refreshed as a husband, father, pastor and friend. Jesus got this. Really? Absolutely. Read the gospels. He is frequently “going apart to rest awhile”. Be introduced to the power of retreat. As I always used to say to students when I wanted to challenge them… I dare you.