“Because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to [his disciples], ‘Come [away] with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.” (Mark 6:31-32; “Come away” is the NASB language.)
“Come away with me,” Jesus said to his disciples. “Come away with me,” he says to us.
But how many of us are listening? We get so busy and hurried. We feel we have to much to do. So we miss the greatest blessing of life: Intimacy with Jesus.
Jesus’ Solitude and Silence
Have you ever noticed when reading the Gospels how important solitude and silence with the Father was to Jesus? I recently did a study of this in Mark and came up with nearly twenty examples of Jesus withdrawing from the pressures of daily life and ministry to people in order to engage in quiet prayer.
I love this! Jesus doesn’t just tell us the wise way to live — he lives it! He shows us how to put our first priority on loving God. Everything else that is important falls into place as we develop our love relationship with God.
Mark shows us Jesus’ intimate relationship with the Father. My short Soul Shepherding Bible Study on this is called, “Jesus’ Solitude and Silence.”
He Restores My Soul
Of all the spiritual disciplines solitude and silence is the one that’s most important for us today — especially for pastors, ministry leaders, and caregivers. When we unhook from our daily pressures and all the people around us just to be with Jesus we discover — eventually, maybe not until we’ve been trained — that the blessing on the Psalmist is true for us too, “He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:3)
We say, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1) But is this really true? Maybe we think we need to get all our work done before we can rest. Maybe we think having a glass of wine is the best way to relax. Work and wine are good in moderation, but neither one restores our souls. That only happens when we lie down in green pastures and beside still waters with Jesus, our Good Shepherd (Psalm 23:1-2).
Still Waters
Why go to the still waters with Jesus? It’s about learning to rest in the sufficiency of God. It’s about submitting to the Lord. It’s about the soul therapy that we need. It’s about learning to abide in Jesus and be more fruitful, more loving toward God and other people.
“Still Waters” is the name of our periodic Soul Shepherding day retreats for pastors, pastor’s wives, and other ministry leaders/caregivers. We also offer five day retreats and other customized retreats.
Contact us or go to our Soul Shepherding Institute page for more information.
