This morning, we continue our series, “The Miracles of Jesus.”
Before we get into the miracle, let’s look at the foundational scripture I will share be sharing with you all year.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. I pray you get refreshed and restored as we study each miracle.
(Mark 4:35-40 ERV)
35 That day, at evening, Jesus said to his followers, “Come with me across the lake.”
36 So they left the crowd behind and went with Jesus in the boat he was already in. There were also other boats that went with them.
37 A very bad wind came up on the lake. The waves were coming over the sides and into the boat, and it was almost full of water.
38 Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!”
39 Jesus stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm.
40 He said to his followers, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Leaders set the example, and your example should “show” those you lead that getting sufficient rest is essential to being healthy inside and out.
—Jesus went to sleep on the boat because He needed it. He was 100% God and 100% man. As a God, His Spirit was tireless. But as a man, His body needed rest, and His soul needed to be refreshed and restored from time to time. During a long day of ministry, Jesus took the time to sleep and get adequate rest. He took a nap in the middle of a busy day of ministry. If Jesus needed rest, we all do. If Jesus needed a break, we could all use a break from time to time.
— Jesus was a leader. He knew that he had lots of people relying on Him. Jesus needed to be able to hear from the Father clearly. His ability to hear from the Father was the key to the success of his ministry and the success of his team. So when Jesus sensed that He needed rest because his physical body was tired, he took a nap. Notice that, although He was the leader, and no one else went to sleep, He was comfortable with making the decision to go to sleep on the boat, knowing that he had a lot more ministry to do that day, and He needed some rest. We can all learn from this example.
— The people you lead are watching you. If you say one thing but then do another, your actions will speak louder than your words. As a believer and as a leader, you should model what walking with God looks like, and it’s important to show people, by example, that we all need sufficient rest.
In the past, I have used David and Elijah as good examples of what can happen when you don’t get sufficient rest. While David was tired of being on the run and exhausted, he decided to partner with the enemies of Israel. I don’t think he would have made this decision if he were not burned out. Elijah was so burned out that he got to the point where he thought he was going to die. He even asked God to take his life. In the following points, I will connect the rest Jesus got in the boat with the need for rest in our lives, and I will use Elijah as an example.
2. Burnout can happen to anyone.
— One minute, Elijah was the bravest man alive (confronting the king, saying it would not rain until he said it would rain, then coming back after 42 months and confronting the prophets of Baal and bringing back the rain), but soon thereafter he was running for his life.
— Rest is critically important. The Lord made Elijah rest, and He got Elijah something to eat. After this episode, Elijah was able to live out the remainder of his days on the planet before the Lord translated him (literally) to heaven without dying.
— Here you have one of the boldest and most amazing men in scripture, a man so amazing that God took him to heaven before he died, and this man got to the point where he WANTED TO DIE because he was burned out. If it happened to Elijah, it can happen to you. We all need rest.
3. Rest is spiritual.
— When Elijah was burned out and wanted to die, look at what God did to restore him. Before God ministered to him in what we consider “spiritual,” God had Elijah get some sleep. When he woke up, God provided him with food. God then sent him to sleep again. When he woke up, God gave him food again. After getting good sleep, rest, and food, Elijah was able to hear from God again. Please do not underestimate the power of sleep and rest.
— You were not designed to go, and go, and go, without rest. God built in a requirement for a Sabbath rest because He knows that we, as humans, need it. Even Jesus needed rest. Jesus was in the middle of a busy day of ministry; the Holy Spirit had already revealed to Jesus all the things He still needed to do that day (cast out a legion of demons, raising Jairus’ daughter from the dead, and heal a woman with an issue of blood), so since Jesus was tired, He took a nap. We should learn from Jesus’ example.
— When you don’t get sufficient rest, you open yourself up to satan. One minute Elijah was fearless. The next, he was running like a scared coward, wanting to die, all because he needed rest.
— When you don’t get rest, you risk losing your mental health because of physical and psychological burnout.
— As I make this point, I want to highlight those of us who are in ministry. When God calls you to minister to others, you are constantly pouring your life OUT into the lives of other people. While pouring out your life as a sacrifice for others is the will of God, it is also the will of God that YOU spend time in God’s presence to get FILLED back up again. Elijah said it would not rain until he said it would rain. It did not rain for 42 months. Elijah called down fire from heaven. God answered by fire. Elijah prayed for the rain to come. God sent the rain. Elijah was an amazing man of God. But after that all of that, after he dedicated his life to God and His people over and over again, Elijah found himself under a bush, wanting to die. He even asked God to take his life. Why? Because he was tired. He was simply burned out. Don’t let this happen to you!
— People debate the actual numbers, but a certain percentage of Pastors in the United States battle depression. Many have quit the ministry and left their churches. Some have sadly taken their lives. When Elijah was depressed, God used sleep, rest, and a few good meals to restore him. Sometimes that is all we need.
4. Prioritize rest in 2023.
— People don’t get burn-out from God. The more you walk with God, the more He will renew you and empower you to keep going. But you can surely get burned out doing things in the name of God. This is why you must keep a clear ear toward God. He will let you know when you are out of His will and in need of internal revival and renewal.
— I believe this is a season of refreshing and restoring for us. But if we don’t spend time in God’s presence and don’t prioritize rest, we will miss out on what God is doing in this season.
— It is not the will of God that we run hard 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week. Jesus needed rest, and so do we.
— Many believers have fallen prey to depression due to a lack of sufficient rest.
— We were not designed to live without rest. David got tired of living on the run. He got tired of Saul and his attacks. And when you are exhausted (mentally, physically, psychologically), you make mistakes.
5. Give yourself the “license” to rest when needed.
— Give yourself the license to release your “to do” list and every nagging thought from your mind. It’s okay. Learn to enjoy a Sabbath rest.
— People acknowledge how important it is to declutter their home or workspace, but many of the same people fail to even consider the benefits of decluttering their hearts and minds.
— You must establish a time when you can rest in the presence of the Lord without emails, text messages, or “to-do” lists on your mind.
— People today are so busy that they even feel guilty (as if they are doing something wrong) when they clear their schedule and take time to meditate and rest. You were not designed to work without rest. Many acknowledge the need for physical rest, but it is even more important to rest your heart and mind in the presence of the Lord. Without rest, you run the risk of making a mistake, like David did, or of even losing your mental health, like Elijah did.
— I know it sounds awkward, but many people today have to be told that it is OKAY to give yourself the approval to rest.
— When you slow down and rest in God’s presence, you are giving Him a chance to speak to you, you are giving yourself a chance to listen, and you are giving the Word space to work. If you don’t slow down, if you don’t enter into God’s rest, if you don’t declutter your heart and mind, your life will continue to be so “full of other things” that the Word will not work FOR you because it has no space to work IN you!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I believe this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
As I study the miracles of Jesus, my faith is increased!
Father, I thank You for blessing me to understand the importance of sufficient rest. I make time for a Sabbath rest every week.
When I sleep, You said in Your Word that You give Your beloved sweet sleep. I am Your beloved, and I get both sweet sleep and precious rest.
I labor to enter into Your rest, and I cease from my own works. I get to the point where my mind is not racing, my heart is not overworking, and my soul is at peace.
I come out of my time of rest rejuvenated, refreshed, restored, revived, and ready to face another day or another week.
By getting sufficient rest, I resist burnout. I never allow myself to get to the point where I am not healthy enough to make sound decisions. My decisions are sound because they are bathed in prayer, based on Your Word, aligned with Your purpose for my life, and congruent with the leading of Your Spirit.
Living this way, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
