Welcome to day 4 of our 40 day challenge!

(You can catch up on Day 1 and Day 2 , and Day 3 if you missed them)

As we go into Sabbath this week, we’ll keep today short and thoughtful.

In Mark 6, a lot happened. Jesus sent out the twelve to do as they had seen Him do. John the Baptist was beheaded. When the 12 came back to Jesus to tell Him the amazing works they did, they were overloaded by people, and so Jesus told them:

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

And this is a beautiful invitation from Jesus to His people. Jesus says this to you as well. “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

It’s interesting to note that while they were trying to do so, they were met by even more people. A crowd gathered where they were trying to be apart with Jesus to rest after doing what He had them do. But Jesus saw them, had compassion for them, and worked an amazing miracle in the hands of His disciples, for the people seeking Jesus.

We see a lot of holy interruptions in the life of Jesus. 

And then immediately afterward, Jesus needed time with His Father, and He took it.  (Mark 6:46)

As much as we can set a schedule to honor God and Sabbath and rest, our schedule is still the Lord’s. Because Jesus was connected to His Father, He knew when to adjust, and how to adjust. The moment you set aside time for just you and the Lord, it will be challenged. You will be interrupted. And it’s easy to see the enemy in the interruptions, and that’s always possible. Sometimes it’s our poor planning as well. But it’s also possible that it is the Lord interrupting our plans. Reacting from a place of love instead of frustration is the goal.

I remember when Aidan was a baby, and as soon as he was settled and I was about to begin my “quiet time” with the Lord, he would cry. It felt like a disruption from my time with the Lord, and I was frustrated. But after a while, I felt the Lord leading me to draw close to Him during the “interruptions”. Which turns out, is just motherhood! And it was vital that I had the mindset of loving this little one God gave me and loving God at the same time, instead of considering them two separate things. God calls us to pray unceasingly, and the only way to do that is to involve Him in the interruptions and inconveniences in our lives.

So on our first Sabbath together, I encourage you to enter into it with a soft heart, and a desire to love God, not a list of rules or a pass/fail mentality. With Jesus, how we do things is often just as important, if not more important than what we are doing.

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31

May we enter your Sabbath with peace and joy, even when our plans are interrupted.

♥ Samantha