And He said to them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
Mark 6:31
We live in a world that is chaotic with busyness. The world is moving at an ever-faster pace and we are dragged along too. Keeping up with the demands of life is hard work for many of us. And it isn’t necessarily that we have complicated our lives with superfluous activities. We often find ourselves bearing heavy burdens to survive financially, care for children or elderly relatives, or do God’s work in our church or community. There seems to be no way to lighten the load.
All of these things are good and worthy in their own right. God wants us to work for our living, care for those around us, and do His work in our church or community.
Finding the Right Balance
But sometimes we can get things out of balance. Those things eat up so much of our time and attention that we find ourselves struggling to put aside time to refresh our souls in God’s presence. Jesus faced the same dilemma when He was on the earth. The demands of His work were so great that He and the disciples didn’t even have time to eat. He knows what we are going through if we are overwhelmed by the burdens of life. He didn’t get much opportunity to lighten the load, either.
“Though Jesus could work miracles, and had empowered His disciples to work miracles, He directed His worn servants to go apart into the country and rest. When He said that the harvest was great, and the labourers were few, He did not urge upon His disciples the necessity of ceaseless toil, but said, ‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.’ (Matt. 9:38). God has appointed to every man his work, according to his ability (Eph. 4:11-13) and He would not have a few weighted with responsibilities while others have no burden, no travail of soul.”
EG White, Desire of Ages, pg 317
Rest to Lighten the Load
Jesus understood the necessity of rest. This was not the kind of rest where you get a good night’s sleep and all is right again. This was mental and emotional rest, where the disciples could lay down the burdens that they had been bearing for others and reconnect with Jesus, the source of their strength. They needed to connect with Him so that they could lighten the load that they were bearing.
Many of us are carrying invisible burdens. Women, in particular, tend to carry a mental load that no one can see. Women are more often responsible for organizing family life, the care of children or relatives and household duties even if they also hold a job outside of the home. Dozens of individual events, activities and daily life must flow smoothly from one day to the next and it is most often women that make it happen. Men also bear mental burdens that are connected with their work; Jesus knows what that is like. He knows how difficult it is to lighten the load.
Come Apart and Rest Awhile
He invites those of us who are weary from our burdens to come apart and rest a while. He wants us to reconnect with Him and renew our strength. Even if we are doing His work, it doesn’t honour Him to work ourselves to exhaustion or be so busy and overwhelmed that we have no time to spend with Him.
“Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence upon God and seeking to make a saviour of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labour earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will, in the end, prove to be effective for good.”
Ibid, pg 317
Let’s come apart and rest awhile and fill our souls with the presence of the One who can give us strength. And let’s look forward to an eternity of peace and rest with Him.