Feb 16, 2018 – Mark 6
He said to them,
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark
6:31
The answer to
busy-ness is not often sleep, but a quiet time of restoration with Jesus.
The disciples had been on a high-speed whirlwind tour around
the district of Galilee. After traveling
the towns setting up Jesus for His arrival, and supporting Jesus in the
miracles & crowds, they were already tired.
Then news came of the death of John the Baptist, and grief & sadness
added to their exhaustion. Jesus was
overwhelmed too, and recognized their exhaustion, so He gave them the advice
ALL of us have heard or said in our lifetime – “you need some rest”. That usually means: “get some sleep, lay
down, plop on the couch, watch some TV and snack on some chips”, all things to
let the body physically rest. But that’s
NOT what the disciples ended up doing.
Instead, they had to row their boat and travel to find a solitary
place. And if that wasn’t enough,
thousands show up and Jesus ends up teaching all day, then asks the disciples
to feed this large crowd. I thought the
idea was to relax and lay under a tree – not do more work!
We say Rest and mean Sleep – but Rest is short for
Restoration. Sleep can restore our
physical bodies with some energy, but often it doesn’t help give relief to our
minds or souls. Often what restores our
minds is not sleep, but effective play or activity. And what restores our souls can be sleep, but
more often it involves comfort & encouragement by life-giving people. If we’re looking for restoration, it may not
be found in a bed or couch. It may
rather be found on a playground, or with a friend in a coffee shop.
Yet busy people often complain that they need more rest –
and keep growing more tired & exhausted no matter how much sleep they
get. That’s why the person who’s mind is
exhausted doesn’t sleep well, because what they really need is a walk in the
park or time on the fishing boat. That’s
why the person grieving is often looking for something mindless to DO, like
cleaning a room or washing dishes (which is what we keep trying to TAKE AWAY
FROM THEM in an effort to be helpful).
What Restoration do you need these days? Are you exhausted physically, or is it
weariness from something in your soul or mind?
What activities restore you – it may not be sleep! Yes, physically you need rest by sleep, but
emotionally & intellectually you need restoration in other ways.
All of these had one thing in common for the disciples –
Jesus was there, and He knew what they needed.
Restoration came in rowing a boat, and in listening to Truth, and in
feeding 1000s of people. And following
that, the disciples got to see Jesus walk on water! I doubt they were thinking about sleeping
during those miracles … but their spirits were certainly not grieving the same
as before. They discovered something …
with Jesus around, you will find restoration that’s far better than just sleep.
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