Come away with me.  Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while. Mark 6:31

Can you remember naptime in kindergarten?  After lunch, each child in the class had a blanket from home that they dutifully unrolled on the floor; we were then expected to sleep for a half hour. But I had no intention of sleeping.  I hated naps!  There were too many things to discover and too much fun to be had, to sleep.

Fast forward a few years and not much has changed.  I love my work and I love the feeling of having accomplished things.  There’s always more to do!  Resting is a hard thing for me. But God, through the tiredness I feel in my body, as well as through Scripture and His Holy Spirit, tells me to rest!  “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves,” Psalm 127:2 puts it clearly.  When I think I’m pulling ahead by straining myself, God calls my worn-out effort “in vain.”

Pastor Rich Villodas notes that, “Had Jesus not pulled his disciples away to rest, they would have either, 1) died of exhaustion, 2) quit following him or, 3) ended up addicted to their work.  Three very real temptations we face.”[1]

Feel like you have too much to do to take time to rest?  Jesus never calls us to that.  The life He calls us to is one that is lived to His rhythms, in His strength, powered by times of rest.  Rest is a spiritual discipline I need to cultivate.

 

Resource reading: Mark 6:30-32

 

[1] Villodas, Rich [richvillodas]. Instagram. October 31, 2021. https://www.instagram.com/p/CVtOY9zPIWf/?utm_medium=copy_link.