Relax Mark 6:31

I just got off the phone with a dude who pushes himself too hard. Do you know this guy? Are you this guy? I feel like our society has this draw and attraction towards effort, achievement and exceptionalism. We celebrate winners. We recognize champions. We want to be amazing and as a culture, we push this idea that we have to be willing to do all it takes to make amazing happen.

Unfortunately this sometimes translates into our religion. We think we have to be our very best selves for God. We need to impress Him. We have to clean up, work hard, act right and hopefully wow the Almighty.

Okay, really? You know He knows everything, right? Like, He can read your mind. You can’t fool God. You don’t need to impress Him. He knows you need saving. He knows I do as well. He knows I can’t stand up without grunting and groaning. I’m not impressive and I am really needy. What if you are too? There is a beautiful moment in Mark 6 between Jesus and His guys where He encourages them to stop working, stop pushing, stop scheming and strategizing - stop doing ministry and simply get away from it all with Him. He said, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Jesus knows that sometimes you need to relax. Sometimes you need to chill and spend some slow time with Him with zero goals and lots of open space. When was the last time you put everything down to simply be quiet with Jesus? What if Jesus cares about you so much that the thing He most wants is for you to slow down?