Vacation and Soul Rest

Vacation time

August is vacation time for many of us serving in cross-cultural missions. Whereas July is often busy with various camps and short-term teams, August is more often focused on spending time with family and enjoying the warm weather before classes and the fall ministry schedule begin again. As expected, in the last few weeks, I have received innumerable “out-of-office” notifications from my colleagues. This morning, I had only a couple of new emails and messages to which I need to respond. This is the predictable pause in August while colleagues take a break from ministry. It almost causes us to forget how very unpredictable and disrupted our lives have been in the last 18 months.

Finding rest for your soul

But a break from ministry while taking some vacation time does not always result in soul rest. Some people seem to need a vacation to recover from their vacation! Unfortunately, vacation does not nearly always result in people returning refreshed and rested. We may feel physically rested. But since most of us are not involved in much manual labour, physical rest is not the primary objective of our vacation. As knowledge workers, we want to rest our minds, our hearts, our center core, that which we call our soul. But as we sometimes ruefully admit to ourselves, taking some vacation time did not result in soul rest. How does one actually rest one’s soul?

Jesus proposes they take some time off

At a very busy point in his ministry, Jesus recognized that a change needed to be made. The Twelve had just come back from their first preaching tour and had all kinds of exciting stories to tell (Mark 6:30). The crowds were milling around Jesus, constantly asking for help. As a result, Jesus and his disciples did not even have time to eat. It is at this point that Jesus suggested,

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

Mark 6:31

What went wrong with the plan?

But when they arrive at their “vacation designation”, they find a huge, welcoming party, a large crowd “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Although the crowd welcomed them, I am sure the disciples did not see them as welcome additions to their vacation plans. But regardless of what they might have thought, Jesus goes right back to work, teaching the people.

At the end of the day, he once more enlists the help of his disciples to feed the people. Their “day of rest” ends with cleaning up after a party of 5000 men. Then at nightfall, he puts his disciples in a boat without him. The disciples end up rowing all night, making little headway against the wind. In the middle of the night, they are scared half to death when Jesus approaches out of the darkness, walking on the water. This is supposed to be restful?? What happened to that promise of rest and quiet, Jesus?

This sequence of events in the Gospels has puzzled me and probably many of you as well. Did Jesus not know that the crowd would find out where they went? Did his plans for some “R & R” go awry because he had forgotten how persistent the paparazzi might be? So then, did he just postpone their time off until a more suitable break in the schedule might appear?

What did Jesus mean by “rest”?

Or it is possible that this was the rest that Jesus intended for his disciples? Was the rest that Jesus was offering to the disciples the experience of being with him, listening to his teaching and then receiving their “daily bread” from their good shepherd – all in the context of a remote location? Could Jesus be offering his disciples what the people of Israel experienced in their wilderness experience when they were led and fed by the God who accompanied them? Was the encounter with Jesus “passing by” on the lake supposed to remind them of how Moses got a glimpse of God as he “passed by in front of Moses”? (Exodus 34:6). William Lane, in his commentary on Mark, says,

That God provides rest for his people within the wilderness is a recurring theme in the Scripture. It was the literal rest of the wilderness generation led by Moses and Joshua which became the type of the final rest promised to the people of God in a second exodus in the preaching of Isaiah and Jeremiah. The ancient hope of rest within the wilderness is to be fulfilled as Jesus gathers his disciples to a wilderness-place that they may be by themselves. The disciples and the multitudes who pursue them prove to be the people of the new exodus. The presence of Jesus and the provision of God will give to this time of withdrawal the character of rest within the wilderness.

William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1974), 225.

True rest of soul

As Lane says, the presence of Jesus and the provision of God makes this a time of true rest. The Greek word for rest in Mark 6:31 is the same word as found in the great invitation of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

True rest comes from being with Jesus, learning from Jesus, being nourished by Jesus, and encountering Jesus in new ways. In contrast to what we all think, true rest does not come simply from time away from work, when we are free to do whatever we want. Taking time away from work and away from distractions definitely contributes to setting up the environment for spending extended time with Jesus, learning from him, and drawing on his resources. So does a beautiful view of mountains, lakes, and trees. But booking a couple of weeks in the most beautiful vacation spot on the earth does not guarantee soul rest, not even for the believer.

An ongoing restful state

Is “soul rest” something that the disciple of Jesus can experience on an ongoing basis? Jesus seems to imply that it is. In this famous passage, Jesus does not seem to be referring to a momentary time of rest and refreshment, away from the busyness of work. Instead, he seems to be talking about a state of being that continues as one follows and serves Jesus.

Yes, Jesus is using the future tense. “I will give you rest.” “You will find rest.” In a very real sense, the rest that is promised and for which we long is something that awaits us in the future, when the kingdom of God comes in its fullness. John hears about this future rest in one of his visions in Revelation.

Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”

Revelation 14:13

But the rest Jesus promises is also a present experience as the letter to the Hebrews makes clear.

Now we who have believed enter that rest

Hebrews 4:3

Here again is an example of something in the kingdom of God that is “already” and “not yet” at the same time. We experience soul rest now. But we long for this rest in its fullness in the life to come.

Burdened and weary

The promise of soul rest that Jesus gives is to those who are living under burdens. Burdens can refer to many different expectations, worries, and troubles of life. But we are probably safe in assuming that Jesus is also clearly referring to the burden of trying to follow all the laws and regulations of the scribes and Pharisees (see Matt 23:4).

In Acts 15, Peter made this point to the leaders gathered for the Jerusalem Council. The yoke of the Law was and had always been unbearably difficult (Acts 15:10). No one was fully able to keep it (Romans 3:23).

To these Mosaic laws, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had added innumerable other regulations and traditions. Those who sought God’s approval by following these laws to the letter became incredibly weary and discouraged. They experienced the hopelessness of ever becoming “good enough,” of never “doing enough.” Maybe some of you can relate.

Listening to the gentle Shepherd

In place of this feeling of hopelessness and weariness, Jesus offers us soul rest. He offers to be with us, not as an exacting Master, but as a gentle and humble companion.¹ I recommend Dana Ortlund’s recent book, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers. Jesus promises to teach us. He assures us that we will find spending time in fellowship with him both restorative and refreshing. Soul rest is available for all who come to him. They need to just commit to spending time with him, listening to his teaching, and drawing from his abundant resources.

According to Jesus, learning can bring rest to the soul. He says, “Learn from me … and you will find rest for your souls.”² (Matt 11:29) Yes, I am a lifelong learner and love to read. However, for those of you who are less fond of books, you may resonate more with the Preacher, who warns us that “much study wearies the body” (Ecc 12:12).

Maybe we all would agree that learning from Jesus is not the same as academic study, although it may include academic study for those who find that invigorating. The important ingredient for soul-refreshing learning is that we are listening to the Teacher with the purpose of deepening our relationship with and love for our Lord. This is what I believe the Psalmist is referring to when he speaks of finding soul refreshment under the direction of his Shepherd.

He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:3

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.

Psalm 19:7

Extravagant time lavished on Jesus

Soul rest comes from spending time with Jesus, listening to him, and drawing on his deep and unlimited resources. I am reminded of Jesus’ great promise in John 15:7:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

John 15:7

In Fruit to Harvest, Dick Brogden defines abiding in Jesus as “precious and delightful extravagant time lavished on Jesus, which involves quantity and quality time.” ³See my book review of this book. Hopefully, for each of us, vacation time includes some of that extended time lavished on Jesus.