I picked up my prayer journal last night and was elated to see an entry from exactly one year ago. I remember the very circumstances of that prayer, as I found myself in a time of unrest and uncertainty. I was still at PBU main campus and knew it wasn’t a fit for me, and I had not yet decided on an alternative. Some of my prayer reads “Lord, teach me what it means to rest and to be at peace in your presence, for it is there that my worship of you is free from ever-consuming thoughts of self.”
If only you knew the things that the Lord has been teaching me the past few weeks..
If you knew these things you would be astounded..as I am. In one of my classes we have been looking at the ministry of Jesus and drawing out principles for our obedience in making disciples. In Mark chapter 6 Jesus sent his disciples out to perform miracles and to proclaim his saving name. Upon their return, Jesus’ words to them are “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (verse 31). Even as other verses in this chapter reveal, Jesus values rest, Jesus values prayer, and Jesus values reflection and thanksgiving. He led his disciples by example and withdrew himself often to pray and to get alone with his Heavenly Father. How much more important then must it be for us to do the same? Not only that, but rest is essential. By it, Jesus was able to jump right back into ministry as he called his disciples to do 6 verses after he called them to rest.
That’s just it, the ministry never stops. Our un-believing friends don’t just disappear. Those we are called to disciple remain in our lives. Our classes and workplaces and homes and friends will continue to prove to be opportunities for us to minister grace upon the undeserving. And what a gracious thing this is, for we are undeserving ourselves.
May the Body of Christ glean more joy from resting in the goodness of Christ. For it is in the secret of his presence that we find restoration in the deepest sense of the word. We cannot find true rest in theology, Christian fellowship, and the reading of the Scriptures alone. Rather it is through communion in these ways and others that connects us back to our God, our Savior, and the Spirit of truth that reminds us of our rich inheritance in Him- the source of eternal good. May we delight in spending rest-filled time with Him, and in our moments of restlessness such as the one I experienced just a year ago, may He reveal to us the things that we are placing before him and worshipping alongside him. As Augustine would say “He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee which he loves not for Thy sake.”
This year my new prayer becomes thus “In the quiet, in the stillness I know that you are God. In the secret of your presence I know there I am restored. When you call I won’t refuse. Each new day again I’ll choose. There is no one else for me. None but Jesus…”
By grace may these words ring true in my life and in yours.
Blessings.
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