Reaching Muslim Men in Context: Unplugged

And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. Mark 6:31.

Very quickly Jesus was in high demand, mostly by desperate people who needed healing. The crush of the crowd and demands put on Jesus and the disciples wore them down. So, in essence Jesus said 'let's go, take some downtime, and retreat'. Mind you, these were often times when Jesus would debrief with them and teach them new lessons. Usually it didn't take long before people would discover them and the process would start all over again.

In the book 'Jubilee--a season of spiritual renewal' author Mel Lawrenz shares the following story:

"One day a woodsman challenged a fellow woodsman to an all-day wood-chopping contest. The first man labored heavily, stopping only for a brief lunch, whereas the other man took a leisurely lunch and several breaks throughout the day. The first man was shocked and annoyed at the end of the day to find that the other man had chopped more wood than he had. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did.”

“What you didn't notice,” said the winning woodsman, “is that every time I sat down to rest, I was sharpening my axe."

It’s the middle of the summer and it's a good time to take a break from busy activities to recharge our batteries…to take our minds off the cares of life. We have many desperate people who look to us to assist them with settling in the West--in need of language skills, a job, and desire to get more of their families sponsored. With others we labor hard to gain trust and share spiritually or we face opposition to the truth. All of these wear us down. My wife and I build several retreat times or even a 'staycation' into our schedules during the year.

We were visiting a couple from West Africa. While we had a good chat with the husband, the wife was constantly(and I mean constantly) on her phone checking messages and the latest accessories for her wardrobe. Use of our gadgets can easily become addictive. On one of our holidays we met a man who said he came "unplugged". That is another level of leaving behind digital 'tyrants' that consume us. We can easily be caught up with answering just one more text or email before we lay our heads on our pillows. Even ministry can be addictive. God doesn't call us to be on duty 24/7.

If we follow Jesus' example of taking a break, the people who need us will still be around when we return to normal life again! We will be able to minister with new enthusiasm, energy, and wisdom. Taking a break will help to keep us 'sharp' like the woodsman. From my experience whether it's a conference, prayer retreat, extra time reading or writing, or enjoying God's creation each contributes to the 'Sabbath rest' that helps me to be refreshed and renewed.