Recently my family and I returned from the sugar white sands of Florida. WOW! That is the place to go to get away. I usually go through my bout of anxiety revolutions before we take off. First, I dread paying for it. Then, I stress about what all has to be done before I split. Later, I have second thoughts if this is the right place and time. Last, I am so worn out I can’t imagine being in a car for 15 hours. Finally, we are on the road and peace overwhelms me. It is a strange peace. A peace that can only be described by the Bible. It is like I am actually fulfilling something God has prescribed for me. It is a peace from the Holy Spirit.
What is your natural tendency when the subject of time off comes up? Some people have serious anxiety when the subject of time off is mentioned. More than ever Christians are struggling with the V word …vacation. Some even feel guilty for taking time off. You might feel like a vacation is more of a luxury than a necessity. After all, there are the bills, obligations, plans, unexpected disasters, etc.
What if I were to suggest to you that it’s biblical?
A recent study showed that 40 percent of Americans leave vacation time on the books and don’t use all the hours they are paid for time off; even though their employers encourage them to take the paid time off.
And studies also show that Europeans, who work less hours and vacation more than twice the amount Americans do, are more productive in the workplace overall.
I honestly believe God wants you to take a vacation – a healthy, restful, soul-invigorating time away to gain perspective, become more creative, and remember what life is about. At the minimum, American Christians ought to participate in the inventions they made, such as the ‘stay-cation’ and ‘weekends-away’.
What does the Bible say about this?
First in Mark 6:31 when He told His disciples, after a long day of meeting people’s needs, And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. This is a purposeful unplug. Jesus knew they were drained. He knew they needed to replenish physically, but also revitalize their hearts. Amazing how the one who created us has the best idea as to when we ought to stop and rest. Jesus was championing a vacation.
Secondly, ask yourself this question: ‘Does God need to rest’? Without wasting a lot of time in the doctrine of God, the answer is, No. Then we have to ask a follow up question: ‘Why did He’? In creation account from the book of Genesis, God took the 7th day and rested. If He didn’t need to, why did He? Simply put, this was for an example to us, and was setting the stage for the Messiah (Jesus). In every point Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament requirements necessary for Him to be the coming Messiah. It is a set-up. God made it impossible for anyone to be the coming Messiah, except the one who could fulfill all the points and all the law. He said He was one the one come to fulfill all of it in Luke 24.44- And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. In no way did He need to rest, but He was setting the stage for when He would come in actual flesh and have human needs and demonstrate for us the need to get away. Just as the baptism He participated in with John the Baptist. Did Jesus have any need for baptism? No. But the scriptures say in Matthew 3.5- And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. He did it to fulfill. Every single thing Jesus did and had recorded was on purpose for our example and for our obedience. This is explained in 1 Corinthians 10.11- Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. This naturally brings us to the third thing the Bible says…
God repeatedly commanded the Israelites to rest. He set the example. In each and every case, it was a prescription. It was rest physically so that they could appropriately trust in God. It takes trust as a leader to walk away from the job and unplug. It takes trust for a Pastor to turn off his cell phone. If getting away, personally or with your family, requires you to trust; then take that step of faith and go.
I cannot exhaust here everything the Bible says about this but I do encourage emails and discussion back. There will be more articles coming soon. In my private reading recently an article popped out at me where the author mentioned our earlier text in Mark 6.31. The thought that sprang off the pages of my Bible was: Jesus wanted to take His rest with the ones He loved. He wants to experience your rest with you. He wants to be there with you while you replenish your soul.
Stop. Obey the Lord. Take time to get away. Trust His process will work. It may take just a few weekends. It may be necessary for you to take your full 1 or 2 weeks. Whatever it takes for you to truly trust and refocus.
Refresh your soul.