Rest Can Be Dangerous
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 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.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. . . .After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. (Mark 6:30-34)
Rest can be dangerous. Because, to go far, you have to go deep and away. Like the disciples in Mark 6, I work through most lunches (usually someone else would point out my growling stomach). Like the disciples, I’m usually preoccupied with what I’m doing and teaching for Jesus. Like the disciples, I have people coming and going in-person and via emails, texts, calls, and zooms. My calendar is more often than not over-packed all week. But last year, this frenzy brought me to a halt because the layers of stress and responsibilities collapsed upon me.
Then, the Lord began to take me on a deep inner journey of self-awareness and coming away with Him regularly to a quiet solitary place. He is teaching me to come to him throughout the day and be honest about my stresses, insecurities, hurt, sins, attitudes, shame, and burdens. He is teaching me to hear what He thinks of me, instead of the opinions and words of men. He is teaching me to develop habits of getting away to rest and replenish through daily, weekly, and monthly prayer rhythms. He is teaching me to come away with Him to solitary places so that like Him in Mark 6, we can have compassion on people, teach and shepherd the flock, and feed the thousands that the Lord brings to us. But afterwards, He again sent His disciples away in a boat where they got caught in a dangerous storm. He himself then retreated to the mountainside to pray. Jesus’ rhythm is cyclical: ministry, solitude/rest, ministry, solitude/rest.
Rest is not just being still. Rest is also full of adventure, wonder, and even danger! In addition to prayer, John and I have taken up kayaking (boating) in the waters, and hiking in nature. When I’m on the water, I feel one with Jesus: my heart touches the heavens above and the mysterious depth below. When I’m in the woods and mountains, my soul is replenished and body renewed. Like Jesus, I’ve found my boat and mountainside. Here are some of my recent encounters:
We explored a river through towering canyons.
I capsized and was submerged in an icy river (almost didn’t make it out from being trapped under my kayak).
We encountered a formidable moose in the mountains (moose kill more people than bears in the U.S.) and detoured through the woods to avoid a confrontation.
We rowed against many windy rough waves. We also enjoyed sitting in many still waters.
We hiked through miles of pastureland, plunging waterfalls, and snowy woods.
In each of these incidences, the Lord spoke to me with His Presence and refilled my soul with His creation. Through this journey of self-awareness, I’ve had to also face the “internal dangers” of my own attitudes, emotions, limitations, and sins, and hand them to Jesus. Through the kayaking accident, he assured me that “to live is Christ . . . and if I am to go on living . . . this will mean fruitful labor for me” (Phil. 1:22).
For each of us to be fruitful in serving Him, we need to develop regular rhythms of coming away with Him in solitude, rest, and soul care. Jesus modelled this for us. For Him, it was a boat and mountainside. For me, it’s my corner chair (in the mornings and during lockdown), a kayak, and the woods. What is your “boat” and “mountainside”? Your rest will be filled with stillness, wonder, adventure . . . and maybe even a touch of danger!
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Lessons from the Least, the Last, and the Lost, All Nations Weekly Devotion by Blake Staton, M.Div.
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All Nations Storytelling Resource
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