“The apostles gathered around Jesus and told 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.’ ”
~Mark 6:30–31, ISV
We do love to focus on everything that God has done through our lives, our ministries, our churches. How amazing is our God to accomplish so much, to bring light to the darkness and healing to the broken? And we should talk about it, encourage one another, praise Him together for the wonderful things He’s done. However, especially in our work-obsessed culture, I can’t help but think that in our zeal to “do the work of God,” we may be neglecting another command our savior has given us: Come away with me.
I want to say yes. I want to go away with my God and just rest in His presence, hear from Him. But…
Every moment taken means I’m “doing” less for Him. If I take an hour to pray every afternoon, I won’t have time to both pick up the kids and prepare a healthy dinner. If I take a day to just be with God, I’m not working to provide for the family God has given me. If WFI closes the schools for a week to hear from God, that’s several days in which we lose opportunities to share God’s love with them in real and tangible ways.
When these very reasonable thoughts pop up, we struggle to remember that, ultimately, we are not the ones who provide for our families, grow healthy families, and change lives.
God is the one who works.
Our job is to believe (John 6) and submit our lives to him. That means that if God calls us to leave our jobs for a year and just spend that year with Him, we do it, trusting Him to continue doing what He’s done all along—provide for our families and bring healing to the world—with or without us laboring to make it happen.
We are privileged to be a part of God’s ministry to this world, but we have to remember it’s just that—God’s ministry, not ours. We are equally privileged to hear and have the choice to obey that incredible request from our source of life, peace, and hope:
Come away with me.
WFI staff and stakeholders have an opportunity during the month of March to take a week away from ministry to hear from God and plan for the future.
Pray for us during this time, that God will renew and refresh us, as well as show us what He desires us to focus on in the future of His ministry here.