Bible Reading:
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark
6:31)
Jesus said these words to His followers
after a busy day in ministry. Perhaps He felt drained from all the demands and
expectations placed upon Him from crowds of people who wanted something from
Him. Perhaps He felt burdened at all there was to do, and so many people to
help that He needed to get away to a quiet place with His Father in heaven. And
certainly, He knew His followers could use some rest and respite as well. And
that’s why He invited them to come with Him to the quiet to get some rest.
If Jesus, being fully God, yet fully man,
could sense His need to go away to a quiet place, then we should sense our need
for the stillness and quiet as well. And I find it interesting that Jesus,
while there were times He got away by Himself to be
with God, in this particular verse, He invited those He loved to come away with
Him. Part of Jesus’ rest and refuelling was to be with those He loved—in the
quiet.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Do you ever sense the need to get away from
it all to a quiet place where you can get some rest? Perhaps you sense that
every day. But that is more than just your body’s way of saying “get some rest”
or your mind’s way of saying, I need a vacation. I believe it’s our
soul’s way of saying “God’s been waiting. Get away with Him.” I believe it’s
Jesus’ way of saying, “Come with Me to a quiet place where we can be together.”
You and I can view quiet, alone times as
reminders of our loneliness and do everything we can to avoid them. Or, we can
try to get to a place where we think it will be quiet, but we’ll be taking our
noisy minds and selves with us. But I encourage you to welcome the quiet as a
much-needed respite from the noise—and as an invitation from God who has been
whispering to you: Come with Me to a quiet place and get some rest.
How often do we feel we must set
aside time to be with God and then feel guilty for not doing it? How
often our hearts may long for a getaway with Him, not realizing that getaway is
available to us every moment of the day because He indwells us and calls us to
come to Him within the recesses of our hearts.p
“Be still and know that I
am God,” says Psalm 46:10. We can get to know Him in the stillness as we allow
Him to quiet our thoughts, and we begin to focus on His presence.
Psalm 46:10 in the New American Standard
Bible reads: “Stop striving and know that I am God.” Having a heart
at rest means we are not striving to control, not anxious or stressed about
what might happen, or all that we have to do. It means we are in a place of
quiet contentment, like David sang in Psalm 131:2: “I have calmed and quieted
my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul
within me” (ESV).
Quiet. Full. Satisfied. Secure.
Is it time to slow your pace, switch off
the inner chatter, and ask God to still your mind from anxiety or busyness and
flood it with His peace? Is it time to close the app, shut the lid on your
device, or turn off the music or the TV, and develop a heart that not only
welcomes but longs for the quiet stillness? It’s there you will begin to
discern your Savior’s voice, which is much more loving than your own internal
critic. It is there you will hear His tender words: I have loved you
with an everlasting love… I have drawn you with kindness (Jeremiah
31:3). It is there you will be assured of His promise to never leave you or
abandon you (Hebrews 13:5). It is there, in His presence, that
you will find fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11).
Embrace the quiet of your day—or escape to
it by carving it out somewhere—so you can get away with God in your heart.
Close your eyes. Enjoy the stillness of the moment and the assurance of His
presence. Spend some time thanking Him for breathing rest –and quiet—into your
day.