After Jesus had heard that John the Baptist had been
executed, we read: "When Jesus heard it, He departed from there
by boat to a desert place by Himself"(Matthew 14:13).
The time was such that Jesus needed private rest and
meditation with the Father concerning things now to come His way.
A little further in this chapter Matthew again tells us:
"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go
before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up into a high
mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, HE WAS ALONE
THERE"(verses 22,23).
Jesus knew there were times that it was correct and right
and proper, as well as a wise thing to do, that is, "come...by
yourselves...and rest a while." Christ needed to spend some time
with the Father in quiet, solitary, prayer and meditation.
Mark likewise records for us this regular habit of Jesus,
getting away from it all to be alone with the Father to talk to
Him and listen to His voice: "Now in the morning, having risen a
long while before daylight, He went out and departed into a
solitary place; and there He prayed"(Mark 1:35).
Now notice Mark 7 and verse twenty four: "From there He
arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a
house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden."
Under this circumstance it was a house that Jesus wanted to
take quiet personal rest within. He wanted to "hide away" for
some period of time from the hustle and bustle of His gregarious
life. Time for quiet communion with the Father.
Luke 4:42, "Now when it was day, He departed and went into a
desert place. And the crowd sought Him and came unto Him, and
tried to keep Him from leaving them....."
Jesus was about to leave to preach in other cities. He
needed to recharge His mental and physical faculties before He
moved on.
After a time of busy work we read: "So He Himself withdrew
into the wilderness and prayed"(chapter 5:16).
Before a very special event, we are told Jesus did this:
"Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the
mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to
God"(Luke 6:12).
Christ was about to appoint/ordain His special inner circle
disciples from the other disciples. He was to call them
"apostles" - ones sent forth(verse 13).
There are times now and then of great importance when close
communion with the Father and seeking His guidance - listening to
His still small voice - may take us away and keep us awake all
night.
Sometimes resting alone with the Father is relative to the
situation. "And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His
disciples joined Him...."(Luke 9:18). Jesus was alone but His
disciples were not too far away as they came to join Him. There
are times when people may be close at hand but we can still pull
away to one side to be with the Father in prayer or meditation.
Let's go back to the gospel of Mark, and chapter 6. In verse
seven Jesus calls together the twelve disciples and sends them
out to preach and heal the sick.He gave them certain instructions
to follow(verse 10) and away they went.
We pick it up in verse 30. The apostles had been busy, no
doubt very busy with the work Christ had given them to do. They
arrive back to report to Jesus all that had transpired throughout
their assignment. The throngs of people were coming and going,
the whole scene was as bees around a bee hive. So much so that
the disciples did not even have the time to eat a meal.
Have you found yourself in similar circumstances? I have.
There have been times when in the shop all by myself that it has
been so busy that six or seven hours has gone by and I haven't
had a chance to stop for lunch. So was it and more for the
disciples upon returning to Jesus.
Christ knew they were human. He knew the body and mind could
take only so much before shutting down or collapsing. Mental and
physical rest in a quiet place was important and Jesus knew it.
The time had come for such rest and He said to them: "Come
aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while"(verse
31).
This is not recorded as being a Sabbath day! It was some
other day of the week! Resting and being emotionally - mentally
- spiritually - physically - refreshed, is NOT WRONG TO DO on
other days besides the Sabbath days!
This is clearly the truth of the matter as we have seen from
not only the examples of Jesus but also from His very words of
teaching to His followers and disciples.
WHAT DO WE DO AT SUCH REST TIMES?
It is obvious from the scriptures above that one large
ingredient within the total period chosen to "rest" is the
ingredient of prayer - personal close communion with the
Father in heaven.
This is not the time or the place to go into the subject of
prayer. For those interested in a full in-depth study on the
subject, please request my article called All About Prayer.
I would though like to say here one thing about prayer. Too
many think praying is talking, talking, talking - shooting out
words to the Father from our mouth like rain coming down in a
thunder storm.
That idea is wrong! Real effective prayer is COMMUNICATION
with our heavenly Father. And real communication is a two way
street. It takes, as they say, "two to tango," and it takes two
to have real meaningful communication. Prayer time must not just
be us talking to God, but it must also be God talking to us!
Prayer time must be LISTENING time - listening to the "still
small voice" of God as He communicates with us through His
Spirit. Sometimes it is very important for us to just simply
"button our lip up" and let God talk to us in prayer.
Another basic ingredient during these wonderful "come....and
rest a while" moments is slow, relaxed, reading of the word of
the Lord. Often our reading of the Bible is done in Sabbath
schools, following along during a sermonette or sermon, reading
during family devotions time, or with out mate. Certainly none of
the above are wrong, but if we are not watchful our Bible reading
gets limited to those situations.
To be alone, to relax in mind and body, to get away from it
all and to turn the engine down into low gear(and by that I do
not mean into "sleepy, cannot keep awake" gear) and read the
Bible slowly with meditative mind is VERY REFRESHING! If you
have not experienced it or if you have not done it for some time,
then let me encourage you to do it as soon as possible. It is
like water to the desert, like oil to a dry skin, like food to
the hungry.
Throughout all this time of physical and spiritual
refreshing there must be the OVERTONE of meditation. All that we
do during this period, if it is going to be of real lasting
benefit, must be done under the canopy of a meditating mind.
We are not talking about taking a rest just to let the mind
"go blank." Not at all! For such minds will fill up with
something - either good or evil.
Our adversary the Devil and his co-workers are just looking
for the opportunity to influence the blank mind. They will be in
there as quick as a wink if they have the chance.
Yes, it is a time to put aside the cares of this life, our
work-a-day business activities, our concerns about what tomorrow
will bring, what we shall eat or wear. You may be going to the
Lord in prayer to seek wisdom for this or that important decision
you must make. You may be asking for help and guidance for a
particular problem, but the mundane things you will need to put
aside, and focus in, meditate on the things that will build you
up in spiritual strength.
The word of the Lord has much to say about meditation!
We find the words meditate/meditation used 20 times in the
Bible. It is interesting to look up each passage where these
words are found. Strong's Concordance will list each verse where
these two words are used in the scriptures.
Let's look at some of them.
Genesis 24:63, "And Isaac went out to meditate in the field
in the evening...."
"This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but
you shall mediate in it day and night, that you may observe to do
according to all that is written in it. FOR THEN you will make
your way prosperous, and then you will have good success"(Joshua
1:8).
Psalm 1:1-3, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the
counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor
sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law
of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth
its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And
whatever he does shall prosper."
"Give ear to my words(in prayer), O Lord, Consider my
meditation"(Psalm 5:1).
Psalm 19:14, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation
of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and
my redeemer."
"When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the
night watches"(Ps.63:6).
Psalm 77:11-12, "I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate
on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds."
"Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the
day"(Psalm 119:97).
"My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may
meditate on Your
word"(Psalm 119:148).
Psalm 143:5, "I remember the days of old; I meditate on all
Your works; I muse onthe work of Your hands."
Meditation in the Lord is thinking about, musing about,
contemplating, remembering, applying in the mind to various
situations, the works, the law, and the ways of the Eternal God,
with the end goal and result being to be more like the Lord in
mind, word, life and actions.
Ah, there are so many things we can meditate upon. Paul
wrote two letters to Timothy that we have preserved for us in the
word of God. He gave Timothy much instruction and many things to
meditate upon and remember to apply and follow.
Look at these words:
"Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the
believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in
purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation,
to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you......MEDITATE
on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your
progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the
doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both
yourself and those who hear you"(1 Timothy 4:12-16).
Life in this 20th century - this fast paced space age world
- can be hectic and demanding. Our jobs, our families, our
church, friends, homes, brothers and sisters, our relatives,
clubs and committees and all the other one hundred and one things
bombard us each day to keep us hopping, and to sap our mental,
physical, and spiritual mind and body.
Often the only way to combat all this pressure and still
build holy righteous character is to:
"Come.....by yourselves.....and REST A WHILE."
written July 1996
(all scripture quotations from the NKJV)
Navigation List
|
