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Need Some Rest?

11.3.08

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 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.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place” (Mark 6:30-32, NIV).

Wespin plates. Not real plates. Metaphorical plates. I spin lots of plates at the same time and I multi-task, whether it’s with small chores or with big projects. Doesn’t matter. This is both a blessing and a curse in our lives. Sometimes our attention is divided in too many directions, leaving us frayed … while at other times, energized by the amount of things we can get done in a small window of time.  Regardless, there just never seems to be enough hours in the day to get things done or enough hours in the night to give us complete peaceful rest.

Being plate-spinners can be a real challenge. Many times we are spinning our plates at home, and at work, trying to keep up with kids activities, things that need to be done around the house, we worry, we get behind, we run from one spinning plate to another trying desperately to keep them from falling and crashing to the ground. Sound familiar in any way?

In Mark 6:30-32, we learn that Jesus and His apostles had been busy working for their heavenly Father. In fact, they had worked with such vigor that they hadn’t even gotten a decent meal in their belly. (Boy, do I know what that’s like!) In response, Jesus invited them to get away with Him so they could find some rest and rejuvenation in His presence. He said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31, NIV). That same invitation is extended to you and me.

God wants us to pause the plate spinning and be His captive audience in this very moment. He wants us to come away with Him to a quiet place: to be still, to gaze into His eyes, to worship Him in Spirit and in truth, to be lost in His glory, and found by His grace - to calm ourselves, and to find rest.

I’d like you to imagine His strong yet gentle hands reaching for our cheeks, lifting our chin, and drawing our eyes to His. He wants us to fix our gaze on His beautiful, blazing, mercy-filled eyes. He wants our full attention………. He wants to be our rest.

Tim Carlisle