Do You Take Time to Rest?

We had had a busy day. Actually, a busy week. We (the family) were all bushed! – flat out tired – if you don’t know what that word means.

As my granddaughter got into her Mum’s car she stated, “Mum when I get home I’m going to have a super duper quick one.”

Mum replied, “A quick what?”

“A shower so then I’m all nice and fresh and can relax for the rest of the day. That’s what you always say.”

This was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Oh, that sounded so nice. To have a fresh relaxing shower and then to sit doing nothing in front of a fire, or read a book with a cup of hot chocolate. That’s my kind of relaxing.

I used to feel guilty if I had spare time during the day. I used to think that I was wasting time and I could be doing something beneficial. Until I realised that relaxing and doing nothing, recuperating was beneficial for my body, my mind, and my soul. Otherwise, I ran out of puff, and at times was running on empty, not being beneficial to anyone.

Do you take time out for yourself to recharge the batteries?

Jesus often suggested to his disciples, especially after a period of ministry, of working hard, to come away and rest.

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.

Mark 6:30-32 NRSV

This was a short amount of rest time, because if you read on further in this chapter, the crowd followed them, and Jesus did not turn the crowd away but taught them. When it grew late the disciples then came to him and told him to send the crowd away to find things to eat. Remember they were tired. They had been working hard. They had not had much rest. They were probably grumpy. That’s how I get.

But Jesus says, “You give them something to eat.”

‘What give again!? We don’t have enough. Are you expecting us to buy for everyone?’

Jesus asks, “What do you have? How many loaves?”

Jesus knew they were still tired. That they did not have enough food.  That humanly it was not possible. But He was trying to teach them that the energy, the grace to keep reaching out to people, serving others only comes from God.

As Jesus took the loaves and fish, he looked up to heaven – His Father, His Father’s kingdom, and blessed and broke and gave…

Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.

Mark 6:41 NRSV

Where do we look to? Who do we look to? Especially when we have to keep going, keep serving when we are tired.

So firstly, stop and rest if you can, but always look to God to fill you. Then just like this miracle of the loaves and the fish, you will have basketfuls left over to give to others.

It is God who graces us, who replenishes us, who fills us and some.

May these jottings from my journal inspire you to believe in and fall in love with Christ- the hope of the world, as stated in Jeremiah 17:7, ‘Blessed is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the Lord and whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord!’

Love

Rosemary

Every week groups of ladies meet together to chat about the things I raise in my weekly blog post and to chat about life in general. We call these ‘Heart Connect’ groups. If you would like more information please click HERE.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Do you feel guilty when you take time out to rest? Why do you feel this way?

How do you recharge when you need it?

Are you able to look to God when you need to be re-filled to give again? If not, what could you do to ask for God’s grace to replenish you?