“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” (Mark 6:31, NIV)
Most of us have been where the disciples were in today’s reading. Some of us will be there today: In the place where the demands of others are too many, and the available time is too short; and our personal resources are too meager to even begin to satisfy the need.
Most of us would choose to press-on — doing more and more with less and less until we get to the point where the upward curve of frustration meets the downward curve of exhaustion. It is never God’s will for us to be in such a state.
When we approach that state, Jesus invites us to go away with Him to a quiet place and get some rest. Will we go; or will we decline His invitation because we know our situation better than He?
Will we go; or will we decline His invitation because we derive personal satisfaction from being “at the wheel” and we see no benefit to spending time away with Jesus — resting?
We have a standing invitation from Jesus to come away with Him to rest, not in permanent retirement from the requirement; but that we might be refreshed spiritually and physically before the next round. – Luther
