In Acts 20:13 you find the Apostle Paul walking alone the approximately 20 miles from Troas to Assos, instead of traveling the distance by ship with his missionary team. What was his motive? Paul wrote in I Corinthians 7:35, And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. The trip will take a few days; this allows Paul time to seek God’s will concerning his visit to Jerusalem, without distraction. No TV, videos, DVDs, radio, computer, phone, cell phone, Blue Tooth, CD, cassette, 8 track or reel to reel player, iPod, MP3, internet, pager, Postal Service, UPS, FedEx, carrier pigeon or Pony Express.

You are bombarded daily with attempts to obtain your attention. Listen to the words of James F. Engel and Wilbert Norton in their book, What’s Gone Wrong With the Harvest? (1975) and Alvin Toffler in his book, Future Shock (1970):

Attempts to influence the individual come from all sides, and the result is an exceedingly high noise level that any given communicator can penetrate only with difficulty. People must, of necessity, develop defenses against these attempts at persuasion, or the consequences will be future shock –

…the distress, both physical and psychological, that arises from an overload of the human organism’s physical adaptive systems and its decision-making process. Put more simply, future shock is the human response to over-stimulation.

Paul clearly wanted the fellowship of other believers (Acts 20:4) but he knew he needed time alone with God without distraction to seek His will. Purpose to spend more time with God in the New Year.