Come Aside and Rest by Skip Heitzig

Come Aside and Rest by Skip Heitzig

I'm impressed with the many times Scripture shows us the compassion of Jesus Christ. He had compassion on the widow whose son had died, and He raised him to life (Luke 7:11-13). Many times when He healed people from sickness and disease, He felt compassion on those who were afflicted (see Matthew 14:14, 20:34; Mark 1:41, 5:19).

… And so in Mark 6, when the people came to Him from the Galilee region, He had compassion on them. He taught them, because He knew their greatest need was to understand the truth about God. He was concerned for their lives and their eternal destiny. He was concerned for their comfort, and so He had them sit. He was concerned for their bodily needs, and so He fed them. But that simple, quiet moment in Mark 6:31 shows the same compassion in perhaps a more poignant way. He was concerned for His disciples, that the demands on them were too great, and so He called upon them to come aside and rest.

I believe Christ still deals with us in that same way. He calls us to come aside and rest. You might say, "But there's so much work to be done for Christ!" After all, Jesus says in Matthew 9:37 that "the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few." Yes, that is true, and those who labor for the Lord are to be commended. But your all-powerful, all-knowing, untiring Master is aware of your situation, and He knows that you sometimes need a break. So come aside and rest.

Find out how to rest in Christ

Prayer Lord, we are grateful that You are a Master who cares about Your servants. Give us the strength to do Your will each day, and the wisdom to take time to rest in Your presence. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Scripture quotation is taken by permission from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright ©1979, 1980, 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers, Nashville, Tenn. From Skip Heitzig: "Decision" magazine, February 2012, ©2012 Skip Heitzig.  Source: http://links.mkt1529.com/servlet/MailView?ms=Mzg4MzIzODkS1&r=MTc2OTg1NjA2NzUS1&j=MTMwMzI3NDM2S0&mt=1&rt=0