"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
Jesus told this to his disciples in Mark 6:31. This verse has been jumping out at me for the last few days as I opened my Bible to read. I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to share this verse of wisdom with you. So here we go:
First notice that Jesus says...
"Come with ME..."
Notice that it doesn't say to go to your girlfriend(s), to go to the television, or go to your favorite blog-----but to go with HIM. HE is who we should start the day out with. He is who we need to seek first, He is inviting us.. He is welcoming us. He wants us to be with Him, we do not have to be alone ever, either in challenging or peaceful times.
"..by yourselves.."
Alone? Ahhhhhh yes, every mother and homemaker needs time alone. If Jesus, the Son of God needed time alone to be with the Father to pray to Him, then how much more do we need it? Precious time alone with God we can refreshen our souls, rejuvenate our minds and revive our spirits more than anything else. Our cups overflow with Him, but dry up without Him.
"..to a quiet place..."
I often used to think that if I retreated to a coffeehouse or somewhere similar that I would feel rested. How wrong. I used to think rest would come "if I could just get out to the library for an hour or two because it is so quiet there.." How wrong again! These places seemed like they were quiet but I often found myself not truly rested upon returning home. Why was that? Clearly it was because I wasn't seeking the true rest for my soul--having only had indulged myself in a sort of 'pseudo-rest'. I wasn't spending time with God or His Word, so even if I did make it out to one of these places as a supposed 'break-time' for me I would not come back truly rejuvenated as I had hoped. Ladies, have you experienced this?
"...and get some rest..."
Real rest. See, true rest comes from the true living waters. God is the One who truly "makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul." Psalm 23:2-3 Christians know where true rest comes from. We do not have to seek after rest in vain and not ever truly finding it. It is free and abundantly available, all we must do is to make the time.
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
Jesus told this to his disciples in Mark 6:31. This verse has been jumping out at me for the last few days as I opened my Bible to read. I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to share this verse of wisdom with you. So here we go:
First notice that Jesus says...
"Come with ME..."
Notice that it doesn't say to go to your girlfriend(s), to go to the television, or go to your favorite blog-----but to go with HIM. HE is who we should start the day out with. He is who we need to seek first, He is inviting us.. He is welcoming us. He wants us to be with Him, we do not have to be alone ever, either in challenging or peaceful times.
"..by yourselves.."
Alone? Ahhhhhh yes, every mother and homemaker needs time alone. If Jesus, the Son of God needed time alone to be with the Father to pray to Him, then how much more do we need it? Precious time alone with God we can refreshen our souls, rejuvenate our minds and revive our spirits more than anything else. Our cups overflow with Him, but dry up without Him.
"..to a quiet place..."
I often used to think that if I retreated to a coffeehouse or somewhere similar that I would feel rested. How wrong. I used to think rest would come "if I could just get out to the library for an hour or two because it is so quiet there.." How wrong again! These places seemed like they were quiet but I often found myself not truly rested upon returning home. Why was that? Clearly it was because I wasn't seeking the true rest for my soul--having only had indulged myself in a sort of 'pseudo-rest'. I wasn't spending time with God or His Word, so even if I did make it out to one of these places as a supposed 'break-time' for me I would not come back truly rejuvenated as I had hoped. Ladies, have you experienced this?
"...and get some rest..."
Real rest. See, true rest comes from the true living waters. God is the One who truly "makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul." Psalm 23:2-3 Christians know where true rest comes from. We do not have to seek after rest in vain and not ever truly finding it. It is free and abundantly available, all we must do is to make the time.
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
17 comments:
What a beautiful post. A great reminder of what is so true. I so needed this one today. Thank you for your faithfulness in the Lord. Blessings to you.
Thank you. I needed this reminder. This is why I haven't been feeling rested! I just need more time with Him. :-)
Thank you from the bottom of my soul.
How true this is! I have my quiet time every morning- and when I don't, boy is there sure a difference! Peace just floods your soul when you spend time talking to God, and thanking Him. I realize how much I am blessed because the list goes on and on! Thank you for this encouraging post!
Courtney
You wrote this for me today. Is it naptime yet? Soon...then coffee and Jesus, just us.
THANK YOU!!!!!
Sidenote: my favorite alone time with the Lord is lying in the middle of a wide open field under the wild blue sky...
May I call you June?
I enjoyed this post you've written.
Also the picture is so pleasant and restful.
Pseudo-rest sounds like it could be a great book to read! Perhaps you'll pen it?
Blessings to you this fine day and peaceful thoughts,
Deanna
Such words of wisdom for mothers - thank you for sharing this. If I go away to find rest, that is leave my home to go to the friend's house to talk over my thoughts and concerns, rather than taking them directly to Jesus and casting my cares onto Him, you are right, it is a pseudo rest... it is rarely I would be able to go alone. I would have to pile my six children into the van, drive through traffic... hardly restful! And even then will my friend have the answer? Not that it is wrong to seek advice from friends but why do we so often turn to them first? If I need some quiet time away from the busyness of the household I just step outside and go for a walk in my garden, the fresh air and sweet fellowship as I talk to my true best friend, refreshes my body, mind and soul.
What a beautiful post you wrote today! It really touched my heart that Jesus is calling us to go to a special place to rest with Him. I sometimes wish I could have lived when Jesus walked the earth to see, hear and follow Him. Just like Mary and Martha~I am more like Mary~sitting on the floor~listening to Jesus tell his parables~His encouraging words~hearing and feeling hope from our Lord and Saviour. God bless, Rose
So true! I was reading my Bible lectionary today while my daughter was playing on the floor next to me--not exactly everyone's idea of of a "quiet time", but I was so completely refreshed by the end!
~Bethany
This is so weird; I was just reading this verse yesterday. I'm working my way through Mark this week. I think somebody must be trying to tell me something to (wink, wink).
Thank you for your lovely blog.
~ Zipporah
What a lovely post and a wonderful reminder for all of us! Thank you so much.
June,... Just coming to your blog makes me feel good. I love the purple colors,...the flowers, the pretty pictures,..the soft music,...and the scripture truths.
Everyone needs to have their quiet times with the Lord. There is nothing more rewarding.
I loved this post!!!!!
Thank you for the needed reminder to have sweet fellowship with the Lord and to look to Him to give us rest.
"A Quiet Placw",..is where I want to be!
Linda @ Truthful Tidbits
What a wonderful verse to ponder upon. I think SO many times that I do rest, but I forget the important part - to be truly rested, I need to have Christ near by to me. It sounds easy enough, but sometimes it's not. Thanks for the reminder.
Very beautifully put and so true!
Hi There
I have only been reading your blog for a couple of months but find all you put on it to be both challenging and encouraging. Your post today was definitely for me! Infact, just before I sat down to read it I had been praying to the Lord about how tired I am and how badly I need rest. So imagine my surprise when I sat down and read this! What a blessing and wonderful reminder about where our rest is found. Its so easy to get caught up in the day to day stresses and worries and get "too busy" for that much needed time with our Lord. To borrow the words from one of my favourite hymns, "O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!" Bless you!
Love this! Wonderful truth shared, thank you! And yes, this has happened, go away,come back not quieted or rested.Thanks again :-)tammyp
I recently read that the Biblical definition of rest is not the kind of rest/relaxation that we tend to think of... but rather a state of peace and union with God. I can't verify that that is strictly true, but it certainly jibes with your post! We cannot feel rested from anyone or anything other than our dear Lord♥
I really truly needed to read this today.. thank you so much for taking the time to post it.
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