Rest Reflect

Rest; Reflect; Journey

August and September is a time for holidays, a time to get away from that which we do the rest of the year.

A time to do something different in different surroundings.

At time to get away from the every day

A time for a change.

Perhaps a time to get away from a time or place or circumstance of stress.

A time to get away and rest

A time to get away and reflect

A time of resurrection and renewal.

A time to get ready for new circumstances and new opportunities.

Elijah needed to get away

Not perhaps for a seaside holiday or a walk in the lakes but to get away to save his life, he had upset Jezebel and she was not one to be crossed.

Elijah gets away, he is tired on his travels and is tired of life as he believes he will be killed and asks God to take him now as he see no future in life as it is.

Elijah sleeps and God provides bread and water for his body and Elijah sleeps and is fed again.

Restored Elijah spends 40 days in the wilderness. Wilderness is a time of reflecting, a time when we think about what has happened in our lives, and what may be our future.

Elijah reflects, regroups and follows Gods instruction to go to Mount Horeb, to go up high to be with God. And God comes to Elijah in the “sound of sheer silence”.

God’s silence

Silence that allows God to speak to us so that we can discern, following rest and reflection what the next stage of our life’s journey is to be.

The disciples of Jesus in Mark needed to rest and reflect.

In both the sections from Mark, Jesus tries to get away either with his disciples or by himself so he can rest and reflect on what has happened or what will happen.

We too need time to Rest, Reflect and then Journey on.

Time as individuals as we travel on life’s journey, we at time become tired, worn out, often exhausted both physically and spiritually.

Perhaps for you a week on the sea or in the lakes is time for you to find physical recovery, time for rest, good food.

Or like Elijah a time to sleep and eat and then sleep some more.

So it is with our spiritual journey.

Our spiritual journey is not always smooth and not without trials, stresses and times when we feel lost or exhausted.

Again we need to rest, to sleep and to rest in the silence of Gods presence, a time to listen to what God wants of us, a time to discern that God perhaps wants our spiritual life to grow and become mature.

A time when God wants our journey to take another direction.

This again is not only in our private lives but also in our community life, in the life of the church, in the life of the body of Christ.

As a church we sometimes need to rest, to restore our spiritual bodies, perhaps even rest some more and then to listen, to come into the “sheer silence of Gods presence”, our own Mount Horeb experience.

Rest; Restore your spiritual life and your life in the presence of God.

Reflect on what has been in the past, reflect on the presence of God and listen to the sheer silence of Gods presence.

And journey, having rested and reflected, we are able to discern Gods ministry for us as individuals and as churches so we can journey on in and through the strength of Gods Spirit.

Remember this is a process we need to do regularly, as perhaps we take annual holidays, we need to rest and reflect then prepare for a new journey on a regular basis.

Rest in the presence of the sheer silence of God.