Rest

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

Luke records: “He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, tried to keep Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, ‘I must preach the Kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:42-43 NKJV).

Grief hits me hard last year, after my precious Hal transitioned to Heaven. In my darkest times, Jesus loving arms became my rest and refuge.

My God-given mission to love and share the love of Jesus empowered me to bounce back to my life’s purpose to carry on daily.

Examine the life of Christ: the control He exercised, the criticism He evoked, the communion He enjoyed with God, then seek Him and follow Him by faith!

Jesus said no to good things so that He could say yes to the right things. That’s not easy. God may want you to leave where you are, but you’re staying. Or He may want you to stay, but you’re leaving. How can you know? Get away from the crowd and meet with Jesus in a deserted place. This word “deserted” doesn’t mean desolate, just quiet – a place to think, to pray, to hear from God, to refuel, and to re-chart your course.

Richard Foster points out that in contemporary society the devil majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. If he can keep us engaged in ‘muchness’ and ‘manyness’, he will be satisfied. He implants taxi meters in our brains. We hear the relentless tick, tick, tick telling us to hurry, hurry, time is money, resulting in this roaring blur called the human race.

Jesus stand against the tide saying, “Come to Me. All you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 NKJV).

Will you come? Will you follow the One who often “withdrew to lonely places and prayers” (Luke 5:16 NIV)? A thousand voices will tell you not to. Ignore them!

Periodic rest and renewal waits for you. Seize the opportunity.

If you have comments or prayer requests contact me at http://www.lilianhosfeld.com