"For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12When I think of the retreat...two things come to mind: one is from a war standpoint, and the other is our church retreats that my youth group would do each fall. Neither of these views really fit the original meaning for this word though. In a war, retreat is sometimes seen as cowardly, and it means that the enemy has won...but that isn't true in this case. When Christian's retreat and spend time with God in rest, they come back stronger than ever in their faith and are ready to fight for their soul. Retreat in this sense is not meant to be a "we're losing so let's back down and cut our losses" ; it's meant to be a "I'm going to come back stronger with God at my side".
Also, the modern church retreats don't fit this idea either. Don't get me wrong, youth group retreats are great in themselves, but this is a different kind of retreat. This retreat is personal; not communal. Instead of long nights with games, movies, and practically no sleep, naps and going to bed early are expected. Instead of sermons and speakers, personal devotions and meeting with God alone are essential.
I know many times I get so over-scheduled that it's almost impossible to find time for God. Not that I don't want to spend time with Him, I just tend to want to do other stuff more. It's not right, but I get so caught up in being involved, that I forget to retreat from the battles/events that I do. Even if it's not a battle for someone's soul or something important like that, I forget to retreat and recuperate for that paper that is destroying me mentally...or when I go weeks without proper rest because I just want to spend time with people; or when I do so many things in ministries that I can't focus on any one enough...
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