Daily devotion – come apart for a while…
Mar 6:31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
You will by now know we have taken a two week break for our midweek prayer and study nights and will resume on January 10, 2024. This is to allow our pastors and our elders to be able to have a break away with their families longer than a few days.
Jesus took His disciples to a secluded place so that they might rest after their labours. He wanted to speak with them about their ministry and prepare each of them for their next mission. Vance Havner says on this passage, “If you don’t come apart and rest, you will come apart.” Even God’s Servant – Son, needed time to rest, fellowship with friends, and find renewal from the Father.
In addition, there was a growing opposition coming from both political and religious leaders. Herod had killed John the Baptist and things were changing now for Jesus and His disciples in Israel requiring greater care.
Sometimes people when they take a break, they switch off from God totally, from His Word and fellowship completely, thinking that this is what Jesus was doing with His disciples here in Mark. At time, during school vacation, families check out from God completely and the Word of God is not picked up at all.
This is not what Jesus was doing here in our text. Jesus was taking time to be with His disciples in a more intimate setting and allowing them to be fully focused on what He was to teach them and prepare them for the future.
As you and your family take a break along with our staff, it’s to give you more time be alone with God, to be in His presence without disturbance from the mundane tasks, to allow you to be refreshed by Him and to receive your next orders.
Doing this allows you to come back to serving Him refreshed, renewed, with a greater focus on God’s plan for your life and ready to set yourself to the mission He has prepared and called you to.
Enjoy your time alone with the Lord and we look forward to serving alongside you in the storms, battles and victories we will face together in 2024 here at Calvary Chapel Secret Harbour.