A PLACE OF QUIET REST

 

August 08, 2023

Mark 6:31

 

“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’”

 

Come With Me and Get Some Rest

God designed rest with a very important purpose, and we should be careful not to neglect it.

In Mark 6, the disciples had been working very hard and teaching many people. They were so busy they did not even have the time to eat. So, Jesus encouraged them to follow him and get some rest in his presence.

Jesus encourages us to do the same. When we are busy, the madness of life overcomes the quiet spaces in our lives and we become overwhelmed and depleted by the pressure to get things completed. Jesus, speaks and says “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

It is important that we approach “rest” with the proper mindset. I have come to understand  that the rest Jesus is inviting us to experience is not about you and me having some “me time.” Rather, I believe it is about refueling, and being re-energized, letting the peace of God’s presence overwhelm us and restore us.

Out of this blessing of “rest” we are then are ready to honor God and serve him with our time and hearts. What I have found is that the “rest in God’s presence” even allows for the “busy list” to be accomplished as well.

If we look a little further in this Mark passage, we see that Jesus did not forget what his purpose was even in the pursuit of rest, “So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” (Mark 6: 32-34).

Jesus still took the time for compassion. He still cared about others and teaching and leading them. Rest is important because God designed us to rest, so that we can serve and honor him with our lives and take care of our responsibilities too.