First Day - The Secret Of RestSýnishorn

Rest Is Spiritual

“Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)

Jesus did not just tell His disciples how to rest, He showed them! Jesus took His disciples to rest. This not only shows us that Jesus was accustomed to rest and practiced it, but that when we walk with God, rest should be included in our beliefs, thinking, and practices. A normal expression of our spirituality is learning to rest – and more, learning to rest “with Him.”

If we see rest as a purely physical act, we will struggle to fully engage with its power. Rest does not start with the body. It starts in the spirit and works its way to every other area of our lives. In Eden, God enshrined the principle of learning to live out of rest and to work out of wholeness. Thousands of years later, His Son, the exact representation of the Father, was endeavouring to teach His young followers that same principle. In the proper rhythm of life, rest is as spiritual an act as prayer, fasting, giving, and going. They are all part of the whole; all part of God’s perfect plan for our lives.

The disciples had just experienced the most amazing mission trip of their lives. Mark tells us, “they drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” (6:13). Jesus was in full flow; the crowds were out looking for Him even as they spoke. Now was the time to get out there to do the business and crank up the PR machine. Now was the moment to maximize the message and its impact. Now was the time to re-double all efforts to make the dream a reality…

That’s how many of us might have reacted, but Jesus slows everything down and takes His followers for a break. What courage, what security, and what rest! At the height of success, the Master thinks of higher things and teaches His friends a powerful lesson. The crowd can wait, but rest cannot – Come with Me.

As we learn to enter into His Sabbath-rest, and allow our souls to be replenished by His presence, we will be more empowered to give out and serve our world.