"Come with me..."

Good Morning,

Mark 6:31 (NIV)
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."

A couple of things sort of popped into my mind as I read and then thought about this verse of Scripture. The first thing was the fact that "busy-ness"...just being busy, busy, busy almost all the time...hasn't changed much over a couple of millennia. Seems that human beings have always had that problem of too much to see and do, and not enough time for just rest and reflection. I thought, with some wonder I must say, about how Jesus recognized this busy and maybe even overwhelming time and wanted His disciples to "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." So, that first group of thoughts was about how we all need to get away from the day to day busyness we seem to be caught up in, get to a place of peace and quiet, and simply get some much needed rest.

Then, the second thing that struck me was that this was Jesus, Lord of lords and King of kings, the living Son of God, who was saying, "Come with me..." This sort of floored me in a way. What I mean is, I can't even imagine the magnitude of being asked by God to come away with Him, by myself, to some quiet place, for rest. As I thought about this, I realized (hey, I never said I was the brightest bulb in the box!), and it dawned on me that God IS doing EXACTLY what Jesus did with His disciples in that day thousands of years ago!

You see, God wants all of us, every one of us...you and me...to do what He did on that day of which we read. Jesus is saying to us, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." This is what God wants us to do on a regular, even daily, basis. And, this IS what we need to do...first to honor God's request of us and second to get that rest that only He can offer.

We need to go away with Him to a quiet place and simply spend time with Him. I suggest it can be as simple as a room in your home with the door closed and just you and He, together, communicating. Or, it can be a walk in a quiet park someplace. Maybe away from the city noises in a forest or woods. Whatever the setting and wherever the place, the important thing is that we get away from our busy, busy, busy lifestyle for a time and spend time with God...and allow Him to give us the true rest we need to go on and be effective for His work and His calling in our lives.

This really isn't something to just consider, I don't think. This is something that we NEED to do.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David