Winter
2003
A Call to Come Apart
Grayce Bausch
“Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place
and get some rest.” Mark 6:30 NIV.
The disciples had been sent out by Jesus to minister to others.
He had given them authority over evil spirits and many were
delivered and healed. When they returned to report to Jesus
all they had done, so many people were coming that they did
not have time to even eat.
Therefore, Jesus told them to come apart into a quiet place
to rest and regain their spiritual strength. Jesus also is
saying to us, “Come apart with Me.” We cannot
minister except we first have been with Jesus, and even after
a successful ministry, it is very important that we again
come apart to be with Him to receive a fresh infusion of spiritual
life and strength.
Not all are willing, even for a short time, to leave behind
those who have responded to their ministry, or to walk away
from the excitement of their success in ministry. These will,
in time, “burn out” and then wonder what went
wrong?
We often carry in our mind much extra baggage from past experiences,
that we tend to get overloaded, and feel like we cannot begin
today’s activities. This is when Jesus will call us
to “come away with Me.” We must respond and walk
away from all needs and activities. They will be there, waiting,
when we return. We must leave yesterday’s successes
and failures behind. We must realize the value, and the urgent
need to “come apart with Jesus.”
We must go by ourselves, and not bring anyone, or anything,
that could keep us from giving our undivided attention to
the Lord. We must stop worrying about the situations that
surround our loved ones, and leave them in God’s hands.
Jesus will lead us into a quiet place, a place that is different
from our usual surroundings, where all kinds of things demand
our attention, and people seek to pull us into their program,
until we feel distracted or confused.
Here in this quiet place, the Lord will give us the rest
that we so desperately need. He will make a way for us to
place our burdens at His feet, so we can walk away free and
rested.
Here, we will receive fresh vision and energy to face the
problems of life, and we will discover that we will have much
greater success, in a far shorter time, because we were willing
to first come away with Jesus to a quiet place, and spend
time with Him alone.