Beaches, Mountains, and Away-Places

Think about your favorite getaway or vacation spot.  Are you a beach person? A mountain girl?  A boating-fishing-camping kind of girl? Sometimes, even when it is still months away, I will call my husband and say, “Let’s just talk about vacation for a minute!”  Then we take a moment to enjoy looking ahead to our toes in the sand and that amazing ocean breeze and all that we love about family time at the beach.

Do you know that Jesus took time to breathe, to retreat, to rest and to enjoy Sabbath?

Have you ever thought specifically about what sustained Jesus?  What were His habits while on the earth?  Jesus is often seen hanging out by the sea (Clearly it’s spiritual to go to the beach!).  Here’s another question: “What is that place of solitude/rest/restoration/rejuvenation for you?”

In Mark 1:35 ESV, Jesus rose “very early in the morning, while it was still dark…went out to a desolate (solitary) place, and there he prayed.”  Where is your desolate place? Where and when is your place of solitude with no distractions?

Jesus addresses Sabbath in Mark 2, when His disciples were criticized by the religious leaders for “plucking heads of grain” on the Sabbath and eating them.  Jesus appreciates snacks and I’m grateful.  But Jesus gets to the heart of the matter, replying, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  So, the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”  The Message paraphrases: “The Sabbath was made to serve us.”  I also appreciate the clarity of the NLT: “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people.”

I’ve pondered this over and over again as Jesus draws me to my daily time with Him and also in regards to our beautiful time together in congregational worship on Sundays.   How is the Sabbath made for man?  Why was Sabbath made to meet the needs of the people? Think about your daily quiet time with God.  Think also about Sunday worship at church.   What words come to mind? I can think of a few.  Worship. Rest. Reflection. Reset. Communion. Connection. Healing. Hope.  Strength. Our spiritual, physical and emotional needs are met as we take time to commune with God.  Also, choosing to honor Sabbath means I am patterning my life after God’s example in Genesis 2.  We acknowledge that we can rest and allow God to handle our stuff.

In Mark 3:9, when “vast numbers of people” were following Jesus, he planned for a time of separation, instructing the disciples to go ahead of him and “have a boat ready so the crowd would not crush him.” This led me to ask myself, “How well am I planning ahead for those times when I might feel crushed by life and people?  Saying no to some things so that we can say yes to time with Jesus is crucial. Healthy boundaries are important.

In Mark 6, Jesus deals with rejection by his very own hometown people and the death of John the Baptist.  Immediately on the heels of this rejection and grief, the apostles returned from a time of fruitful ministry, rejoicing over all that was done. Jesus tells them, “Come away (with me) by yourselves to a desolate (quiet) place and rest a while.” Jesus knew what He needed (to process the rejection and grief) and what they needed (to process the amazing work that had been accomplished).  It was to “come away.”  The disciples might have honestly thought the timing was bad.  They were on a spiritual high! Come away? Yes. How are you dealing with the highs and the lows of life?  Oh, we definitely want to crawl into our prayer closets when life gets hard and we are desperate for answers.  But we can’t forget our time with God when life is at an all-time high. Jesus knows what we need and it is always Him.

In Mark 6:45-46, Jesus had just fed 5000+ people, and after dismissing the crowd, Jesus climbed a mountain alone to pray. Jesus created His rest.  He created boundaries. Maybe we could call it space - an away-place - to guard the physical, emotional and spiritual health of himself and his disciples.  May I ask, “How are you creating your rest?  How well are you Sabbath-ing?”

I wish I was writing this devotion sitting beside the sea or breathing in the fresh air of the Smoky Mountains, but alas, not today.  I bet you wish you were reading this somewhere amazing as well.  But I encourage you today to create an amazing Sabbath space, your very own away-place with Jesus.  A space to pull away from the so-called critics, from life’s demands, the difficulties, the crowds, to get spiritual rest and to rejoice over the highs of life. And may I encourage you to never give up on the joy of Sunday worship together with your brothers and sisters.  If it was good enough for Jesus…

Al’Lora Leonhardt grew up in a pastor’s home and considers herself to have a rich heritage in the Church of God. She has worked alongside her husband, Mark, in ministry for over 33 years.  Together they have had the privilege of serving God in many wonderful places. Currently Al’Lora serves as the Women’s Ministries Director for the Church of God in Louisiana.

In addition to spending time with family, especially the two beautiful grandkids, Al’Lora enjoys reading, shopping, Mexican food and all things coffee. Proverbs 24:11 says, “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” Guided by this verse and the Great Commission of Matthew 28:16-20, Al’Lora is compelled to share the message of Jesus, considering it a privilege to get to preach at any opportunity. She co-leads local and world mission outreaches several times a year, including mission trips to Mexico, Ecuador and Tanzania.  The kids at Casa Hogar Alpha and Omega in Poza Rica Mexico have absolutely stolen her heart.