Mark 6:30-34 - "The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
I like this passage because it shows us how we are to have balance in our ministry. Jesus had sent the twelve disciples out to preach repentance, healing the sick and cast out demons. Under the power of the Holy Spirit they did all these things. We don't know for how many days or weeks they did this, but we do know it was not one day. Jesus talked about them staying overnight at peoples homes.
After these days of ministry, they came back to Jesus and reported to him all that happened. It seems that many who they ministered to returned with them to Jesus. They were so busy ministering to the people that they had no time to eat. It is at this time Jesus realized that his disciples were worn out and needed some rest. Yet, as they crossed the lake to find a solitary place, the people ran ahead of them and were waiting for them. When Jesus saw this he had compassion on them and began teaching many things.
What can we learn from all this. We learn that all ministers of the Lord need a time of rest and preferably a solitary place where you are not bothered. A place where you can be refreshed physically, mentally and spiritually. Jesus recognized the importance of this. In the same way, we need to recognize when we are in need of this. Sometimes as ministers we don't recognize this or have a hard time stopping. Often, we need someone to come to us and tell us that we are worn out and need rest and encourage us to do this.
The other thing we learn here is that even though we need rest. There are times we have to go the extra mile for people who are in need of being ministered to. We should block out times of rest, but not be so rigid that we ignore and urgent need or cries of those around us. We may be on vacation, but we are never on vacation from God. We are never on vacation from our calling and gifts. As ministers of the Lord who give our full time to the work of the Lord, this requires wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit to balance our ministry and personal life and needs.
Many a minister has been burned out in ministry. There are many factors that contribute to this. The three main factors is carrying the load of the ministry in your strength, not getting away with the Lord on a regular basis and not faithfully finding a time to get away where you can rest our body, soul and spirit.
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