Spiritual Decompression

Read Mark 1:35-39

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." —1 Peter 5:7

Reflection of Tommy:

I heard many times from people that they are so busy that they have no time to pray or spend quiet time with God. But in today's passage, we see how even Jesus himself set aside time to pray to the Father, how much more we need to do the same?

The amazing thing is the more time we spend with Him, the more efficient and equipped we are in handling the stresses and pressures in our lives. He give us rest and peace from our burdens (Mark 1:35-39); strengthen and renew us (Isaiah 40:31) to be ready for the challenges ahead.

Dear Father, thank You that I can cast all my care upon You (1 Peter 5:7). Thank You for your strength to lift me up again when I'm weary and down with the pressures around me. Teach me to have more quality quiet time with You, listening to You and submitting to Your guidance and leading in all things. In Jesus' Name, I pray, Amen.

Slow Down

Genesis 2:1-3

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [a] from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Reflection of Bee:

The Seventh Day is supposed to be a day of rest God intended for us. Yet some of us just do not know how to rest but continue to work, work, work.... till we collapse one day.

I am also a workaholic and find it so hard to rest on weekends. I still do work on my off days. Such lifestyle is actually a 'time bomb' waiting to be exploded. In my case, it has 'exploded'... I have fallen very ill now because of my accumulated long hours of work and little rest. Stress built up gradually and my immunity level started to drop. I have never been so ill as now with full blown flu and chronic cough.

Thank God that I left my job at the right time. At least I could rest at home now when I am sick and still be paid for this month. I guess God is telling me that I have to "slow down". Whatever is God's plan for me, I want to know and follow.

Yes, Sunday is a day we should rest by going to church to worship God with fellow believers, and also spend time with loved ones whom we are too busy to give attention to during the weekdays. We need to learn to put down our work and relax so we can charge up our energy for work on Monday.

Dear Lord,
Thank You that You know what is best for me. I am learning how to rest on the sabbath day instead of working, which is contrary to what is best for me. I have broken down physically because of lack of rest. I have missed church services 3 times in a row due to my sickness. I pray for a speedy recovery so I can go back to church to worship You again on Sunday.

I pray too for my special friend that he will also learn to rest on Your Sabbath Day instead of working so hard. I pray You will help him complete his assignments soon. I pray he will have Your wisdom in not taking up more assignments than he could complete during the weekdays. Keep him in good health Lord.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.




Reflection of Tommy:

To be honest, I haven’t been resting for years, working for more than 12 hours a day almost everyday! The little rest I had were short and did nothing to refresh or rejuvenate me. Again and again I promised myself to take some time off from my work in the office and at home, but I kept committing to more and more jobs.

Today passage tells about how even our almighty God himself rested from His work, how much more we also need to set aside time to rest. Here God demonstrated that rest is appropriate, right and vital to refresh us for times of service and renewal.

Dear Father, thank You for Your reminder! Guide me to really take the effort to set aside time for rest and spending it with You and others. Teach me to put first things first, managing my works, service, leisure and also myself well and trusting You to take care of all my needs. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.