Friday August 7, 2020
Today’s Scripture: Mark 6:31-32
31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.
32 So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.
Today’s Devotional
In this passage from Mark we get the clearest example of Jesus making rest a priority for ministry. He’s intentional about taking himself and his disciples out of the daily flow of what they were doing to a place of quiet so they could rest.
I will admit to you that it’s hard for me to do this. I think it might be for a lot of people. Even if we are retired, we still can fill out lives with so much activity that there is little time to rest and recover and listen to what God might be saying. We must be intentional, like Jesus, and make rest a priority.
To that end I’m going to be taking a rest start next Monday. This means that next week (August 10-14) there will be no daily devotionals. I began writing the daily devotionals back when we first entered our lockdown. I seriously thought I would write them for a few weeks at the most! That was 21 weeks and 105 devotionals ago. I never really intended to have the devotionals go on indefinitely. However, I have found writing them to be a helpful discipline. I have enjoyed writing them and I hope you have enjoyed reading them as well. So, I do plan to continue writing the daily devotional after next week’s break.
I hope that you are also thinking about your own health and well-being at this time. What would it take for you to “go off by yourself to a quiet place and rest awhile?” We rest not just because our bodies and minds need it. We rest so that we can be our best self for Jesus to use in the Kingdom of God. Resting prepares us for ministry. So, take a deep breath today – and find a way to rest. If Jesus did it, so can we.
Today’s Prayer
God thank you for the opportunity to rest. Help us to take it when we need it. May our rest give us energy and excitement about the ministry that you would have us do in the weeks and months ahead.
Amen
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