Get In the Boat

October 19, 2022

I don’t always recognize a quiet place. Know what I mean? At times I need to get away to rejuvenate. I long for a quiet place where I can get myself together.

Sometimes rejuvenation comes by taking a vacation. We leave our cares behind and go to the mountains or to the beach or on a road trip. We come back to our regular routine refreshed.

Well, not always. We’ve all been on a vacation that leaves us worn out.

There have been times when the journey to the vacation site is more rejuvenating than the time after arriving. I call that “just getting in the boat.”

In Mark 6, Jesus’ disciples had just returned from their first big mission trip, when they were sent out ‘two by two’ to practice what they had seen Jesus doing. Jesus himself had just heard of the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. They needed to rejuvenate. Jesus said, “Get in the boat.” They headed for a quiet destination.

The time in the boat was enough to rejuvenate Jesus. When they got to what they thought would be a quiet place, there was instead a huge crowd. Jesus was ready to go back to work. Evidently the disciples were not, and at the end of the day Jesus told them, “Get in the boat.” They hadn’t recognized, the first time, that there was rest in the journey.

Your quiet place of rejuvenation may be in a quiet corner of your house, in your garden, in a crowded coffee shop, or even shopping in a department store. God will provide what we need , if we’ll only recognize it.

“Come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28