COURAGE TO REST
January 06, 2021
Prayer: Lord, give us the courage to find that quiet place and rest with You. Amen.
Scripture: Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, He [Jesus] said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
Each school year is an academic cross country race. More accurately, it is an academic marathon. If we don’t start resting in a disciplined manner and pacing ourselves, then we are going to get burned out and not have the best race possible. Pacing and rest has long been a part of God’s plan for His people. In the old Mosaic law, God instructed the farmers to take every seventh year off to let the land rest. He instructed them not to sow their fields and not to prune their vineyards. He told them that whatever the land yielded during that year was to be the food for them and their animals. Wow! How much courage and faith would that take? How much of a true partnership with and belief in God would that involve?
One of the Ten Commandments is to take a day of rest each week to worship God. The Israelites were instructed not to light fires in their homes or harvest in their fields on this day of rest.
Jesus told His disciples to come to Him and He would give them rest. When His disciples were so busy that they were omitting meals He told them to come with Him alone to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:31
God mandates and encourages naps! Wow! Just like kindergarten! Have we been missing our naps and our days and seasons of rest? Do we trust God enough, do we have enough faith to let go of our agendas and other’s agendas and start following His, to get into that steady productive rhythm of running and resting instead of running and running? It takes courage to set our agendas aside to follow God’s. Do we have the courage to rest as God asks?
Reflection: When and where is God calling me to a quiet place to be alone with Him? Am I being obedient?
Getting Real: Start each day at school being alone and still with God for five to fifteen minutes in your classroom or work space. Speak and quietly listen to Him. Read your daily CEAI devotion and pray the daily scripture for yourself, students, and staff.
Copyright Don Clark. Email [email protected]
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