This is Spring Break week at DeKalb Schools, so we have cancelled all events tonight (Wednesday) at church. This gives all our workers a break, as well.
I know that during Spring Break each year many go south or to warmer climates for the week. But, our family never has. Anita often planned special events for our kids when they were home from school, but I can’t recall ever having taken more than day trips.
A break from the routine is healthy. In Mark 6:31 is recorded, “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‘”. So they took a cruise to an isolated place to refresh themselves. In America, we’re too much like workaholics. God set the pattern for us when He worked hard to create the world, and then rested on the seventh day. Here’s the pattern: Six days of hard work = one day of total rest. And the purpose of rest is to rebuild for the task at hand.
Jesus was not running from His responsibilities. He was renewing His strength so He could work more effectively. The very next thing that happened was a crowd pursued Him and He miraculously fed the 5,000 (Mark 6:33-44). The purpose of breaks is to renew our strength, not collapse from weariness. We rest to prepare for work, not to recover from it. Rest should look forward to our work, not the other way around.
What does this story tell you about your work stresses?
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