Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” —Mark 14:32 NKJV
It’s been one of those long, exhausting days. You’ve just drifted off when you hear those dreaded words: “Mommy, my tummy doesn’t feel good.” Your late-night shift turns into back-to-back all-nighters as the tummy thing rips through the whole family. You’ve spent the day running errands and meeting needs when your dearest friend’s emergency trip to the hospital presses you into service. We all know what it’s like to have that “one more thing!” Maybe it’s not even one more thing on top of a ton of other stuff. Maybe it’s just one big tough season that requires your tending to day after day after day with no possibility for a break anytime soon, but the doing is absolutely necessary.
It gets hard when you can’t put your head down and close your eyes for just a moment. We don’t even need an all-nighter to know that feeling: when you just need a break in the middle of a hectic day to sit a spell, to grab a book, to pray, to be in the Word when all of a sudden, it’s lights out.
Jesus and the disciples had just had a day like that. It was Passover week, and now, here it was midnight, and they were ready to crash. But Jesus needed to pray. So, He brought them to the Garden and called on them to do one more thing: “Sit here while I pray.”
As women, we know all about those Columbo moments: “Oh, just one more thing.” We’re created to be nurturers, and that makes us want to care for and minister to others, most often at our own expense. We often put ourselves last and our needs on the back burner while we put others’ needs front and center.
Just when we think we’re at the breaking point, we’re called on to do “one more thing.” If I can be honest and real here, sometimes we might not even really like the person we’re being called on to minister to. We might even be feeling a tad resentful toward them or the circumstances we’ve been brought into, which makes the serving that much more exhausting. But we do it because Christ compels us, and resting will come later.
Jesus had the perfect balance of resting and serving. He knew when to pull His disciples aside for quiet and when to press them into service. Ironically, His pressing often came after they’d had a crazy, busy, exhausting day and desperately needed some shut-eye.
It’s critical to set healthy boundaries, to determine the true needs versus the wants. It’s imperative that we stop for regular rest and recovery breaks. However, at times, in spite of being dog tired, we do have to keep going, we do have to go and do the next thing, we do need to go and meet that next need, we do need to go and minister to that next hurting soul, because Christ, through His Spirit, presses us to do so.
I think it’s safe to say that each one of us has experienced being pressed into service. Along with it, we’ve also come to know the strength and peace God gives us in the middle of those tough hours or through that season. You just might be in a season right now when He’s asking you to do just “one more thing.” If He is, it’s okay that you’re exhausted. It’s okay if you just don’t feel like it today. It’s okay if all you want to do is go home and nap or curl up with a cup of tea and a book for a little “me time.” Sometimes, just like the disciples who fell asleep on their mission to do that one more thing of sitting up with Jesus, we can find ourselves on the snooze side of our mission. He knows that very well, and He understands completely.
In the midst of His pressing, He will strengthen you and help you do the present seemingly undoable “one more thing.” And in His perfect time, He will give you that much-needed rest for your body and for your soul.
Father, thank You for work to do. You know how tired we get, how sometimes putting one foot in front of the other seems impossible. Yet, You give us the strength to do all You call us to do. Help us to see clearly what task is really from You and not ones we’re picking up that You have not meant for us to tackle. Thank You for strengthening and sustaining us through all of life’s “just one more thing.” I love You, Lord!
He giveth more grace when the burden grows greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added afflictions, He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplies peace.
When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
When our strength has failed ere the day is half done,
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father’s full giving is only begun.
His love has no limit, His grace has no measure,
His power no boundary known unto men;
For out of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth, and giveth, and giveth again.
—Annie J. Flint
In Him,
Donna Perkins
Sweet Selah Ministries
Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service
Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)
Donate
If you’ve been blessed, keep the blessing going!
Click over to our Donation page … and thanks.
Share it. Pin it.
