Rest in the Wilderness

Mark 6:31 “And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while....” 

Today makes six months since my son Buddy had the heart attack, which ultimately led to his death three days later. I’m perfectly aware there’s a “Buddy-sized” hole in my heart, which will never heal. However, I thought surely after six months, I’d have reached a point where I could function. But it hasn’t worked that way. Although I seem to be doing better emotionally, my body isn’t, and I’ve been sick for almost four months. I’ve finally had to make an appointment with a pulmonologist to find out what’s going on. 

After several months of neglect, I have more things on my plate than I could possibly do, more concerns and worries than anyone could guess, and a broken heart about a situation beyond my control. Now I am facing an “enforced Sabbath” of at least several weeks because my lungs won’t cooperate. None of that has made me a happy camper because I hate having my activities limited, don’t you?

I especially hate it when I have so much to do and when sorrow or fear over what I cannot change or control is consuming me. My usual response to fear is to stay so busy I can’t dwell on it. Rest? It’s not high on my list of preferred activities. And this wasn’t exactly the kind of rest I would choose even if I did want a break: a vacation in the desert, the barren place of testing? No, thank you. Those barren places are what you want to get away from at the very first opportunity! Yet that’s where I found myself when I opened my Bible and read Mark 6:31. 

The disciples had been busy about doing what the Lord had given them to do, and when they were reporting back to Him, His absolute direction was to tell them they were to “come apart into a desert place, and rest a while.” But, Lord, don’t You see the work is not yet done? Don’t You know there are people I love in a far country and others I love who need me right now? You’ve said Yourself there isn’t even time for me to eat. How can I rest in this place of hardship, this place of desperate sorrow…this desert place? 

However, the disciples obeyed and when they did, Jesus took the pitiful things they had, five loaves and two little fishes, and performed a miracle as only He can do. And He did it in the barren place to which He had called them. We can take heart from this, weary Christian. What feels like chastisement or abandonment in the wilderness may really be an invitation to rest in the Savior. 

Mark tells us that Jesus was moved with compassion, and I’m sure some of that same compassion extended to his disciples and to you and me. Oh, that we could trust Jesus in the desert place as well as in the land that flows with milk and honey! Oh, that we could take Him at His word! I don’t do it perfectly, but I’m learning. Among other things I’ve learned in these months since I lost my son, I’m learning God can give me rest even in the wilderness of my greatest loss and can then take the little I have and use it to do something wonderful. 

Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, chose to trust God in our wilderness and learned to rest in Him?

Standing in the storm: Is it an exercise of the spirit or an exercise of the will? #tostand, #measureofaman, #RitaMoritz,

John 6:67 “Will ye also go away?”

 “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Martin Luther King Jr.

 In the beginning, great multitudes followed Jesus, willingly going from one place to another. And why not? He spoke eloquently to them, He healed their sick and lame, and He spoke with authority. However, it wasn’t any of those things that attracted the people to Him. What caused them to follow Jesus from Tiberias to Capernaum was that He fed them. (John 6:26) It was easy, and it was comfortable.

 Then Jesus began to tell them “the rest of the story.” Following Him wasn’t going to be an easy road of free food and comfort. Following Him was going to mean sacrifice and hardship and a heart determined to live for Him and trust Him regardless of what happened in their life. It was going to mean looking to Him and seeing He was more than the son of Mary and Joseph. He was going to be everything, or He was going to be nothing.

 Faced with that truth, “many of his disciples went back and walked with him no more.” (John 6:66) Like some of our own “fair weather friends,” they walked away when it stopped being convenient or comfortable. Then Jesus looked at His twelve disciples and asked, “Will you also go away?” (John 6:67)

 No one ever said our road was going to be easy. In fact, the Scriptures say exactly the opposite. The book of Job tells us “man’s days are short and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1) And Job spoke with authority since he had lost everything…his wealth, his children, and his health. His wife finally told him he should just “curse God and die” and asked him why he retained his integrity. Job answered her by asking whether they should expect only good things to happen. (Job 2:9-10)

 The question isn’t whether heartbreaking things are going to happen. They are. The question is how will I react when they do? How will you? Will we go away as many of Christ’s disciples did, or will we stay the course? Will we blame God and say how unfair our circumstances are, or will we retain our integrity? Those questions have taken on a whole new meaning since my son Buddy died on December 22, 2016.

 At some point, I can guarantee you too will be faced with those very choices, and it takes determination to do what’s right when your world is falling apart. However, we need more than determination when the worst things happen. We need the love and support of family and friends, we need prayer, and we need the power of God to do for us and in us what we can’t do in our own power.

 Drawing that line, making that promise, standing steadfast isn’t easy. But it’s the only way, when trouble comes, we will still be standing in our integrity. Combining God’s power with an exercise of our will in refusing to quit will make it possible to “withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)

 Challenge for Today: What might happen if we, just for today, determined in our hearts and asked God’s strength to keep on keeping on?