Every year I try (although I don’t always succeed) to read the whole Bible in a year. I find that this practice exposes me to the whole counsel of God’s Word and makes me see things in Scripture that I would otherwise fail to notice or skip over. One of the things that has stood out to me recently in my personal Bible reading plan is Jesus’ frequent practice of getting away from the hustle and bustle of his daily life in order to spend time - sometimes alone, sometimes with his disciples - in prayer and rest. For instance, in the Gospel of Mark Jesus says to his disciples, “‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves” (6.31-32). Although I’ve read this passage many times over the years without a second thought (and several others in the Gospels like it), this time I was struck by the staggering implications of this text. Jesus, the Son of God, our sinless and perfect Savior, needed time away from daily responsibilities to rest and commune with his Father. It’s tempting to read the passage and think about the loss of valuable time that could’ve been spent being more productive. Jesus could have used that time to continue his work of ministry. He could have continued to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach to the crowds that followed him. Yet in light of the endless work before him and the many needs of the crowds, Jesus, the perfect One, chose to remove himself from his daily tasks and “rest a while,” as Mark tells us.
Seeing the example of Jesus, who recognized his own need for times of rest and prayer, I am convicted of my failure to mark out time in my calendar for rest and renewal. This passage in Mark is a good reminder for me - and probably for many of us - that our lives are not ultimately in our hands. We are free to trust God with the responsibilities of our time, jobs, families, friends, and church. God did not create us with superhuman powers to fix every problem and meet every need to the neglect of our own needs. Rather, we are “jars of clay” created with limitations and even weaknesses in order “to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4.7). That’s why Jesus instructs us to pray to our Heavenly Father to “give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6.11). We are not called to act as if everything depends on us. Rather, we are called to rest in the fact that God is a good Father who will richly provide his children with good gifts (Matthew 7.11).
Recently, I have not only been thinking about this wonderful truth in relation to my own life, but also to the role it plays in the CPC youth ministry. Every summer the middle and high school youth take a week out of their summer to attend summer camps. This summer the middle school students will be attending The Edge Youth Conference at Covenant College from June 25-29. The high school students will be attending Reformed Youth Ministries’ Summer Conference from July 11-16 in Panama City Beach, Florida. I’m excited about these trips because it will be a time for students to get out of their daily routine, take a break from screens, focus on strengthening their relationships with one another, and recenter their focus on Christ.
Now, to be clear, these trips may not be filled with the silence, serenity, and rest that I imagine were present during Jesus’ times of withdrawal! On the contrary, it will probably be filled with limited sleep, high energy, and a little bit of controlled chaos …. But, nonetheless, these two retreats are a time of renewal for CPC students because they are intentionally planned to offer the youth an opportunity to build lasting relationships within the youth ministry. Prayerfully, they will create fond memories, have meaningful conversations, and most importantly, devote a week of their summer to grow spiritually through Bible study, worship, and fellowship. In my view as the youth director, these retreats, and others like them, are critical to our ministry to the CPC youth. Just like it’s important in our own lives to take time away from our daily routine to rest and pray, it’s important for the CPC youth to have intentional time away from their normal activities and away from technological distractions so that they can refocus their hearts on the Lord. My hope and prayer are that the youth would return from these trips refreshed in their hearts, strengthened in their relationships with one another, and refocused on Christ.
