“Come Away To A Secluded Place And Rest A While”

The compulsion to turn on the news is almost irresistible in the face of a war being waged on western civilization. Where will terror strike next? The internet seems to beckon with a force of its own to various news outlets, and there’s a struggle to put together pieces and comprehend a way of life heavily under attack.

The Lord is urging His children in these days to quietness and rest, just as He did His disciples:

“And He said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while’ ” (Mark 6:31a, NASB).

The disciples were consumed with much loftier pursuits than following 24-hour news. Just before, Jesus had sent them out in pairs and had given them authority to evangelize and cast out unclean spirits:

They went out and preached that men should repent. And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them. (Mark 6:12-13)

The disciples were doing real kingdom work. They were urging the lost toward salvation. They were seeing miracles happen before their very eyes, and evicting unclean spirits that had tormented people for years. There was so much need, Scripture says, that the disciples couldn’t even find time to eat (v. 31b). And yet, Jesus beckoned them to come away from it all to a private, quiet place and rest a while.

The Lord is saying to many of us, just like He did to Martha, “You are worried and distracted with many things” (Luke 10:41). “Come away to a quiet place. I will give you rest. I am rest.”

The nightly news is not a preview of our destiny. Christ in fact has given us the keys to overcome the darkness swirling around us (Matthew 16:19), but He has also promised us rest (Matthew 11:28). He is calling us to this place more urgently, because it is by His light we see, and it is by waiting in His presence that we get our strength. The darkness grows thicker, but He is desperate to remind us that we are above it, seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

What distractions does Jesus want you to leave for a while in order to rest in Him?