Does your day ever end with the feeling that you did not get everything done? You know, you have list of “to do’s” and you did not finish it. Or maybe your list got longer as the day went on. I don’t think it is unusual to end our days feeling frustrated by what we did not accomplish. What do we do with those feelings? How do we get comfortable with the fact that we cannot fully control our schedules and life often throws a wrench into our plans?
There is a story in the book of Mark when Jesus had a particularly long day. He and the disciples began the day with Jesus teaching in the synagogue. While they were there, Jesus had a loud encounter with a man who was possessed. Jesus publicly frees the man of his demon possession and then heads over to the home of Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law is ill with a fever and Jesus comes to heal her. Interesting side note, once the woman is healed, she jumps up and makes everyone food to eat. We then hear that news of the healing gets out and by evening, the whole town is at the door wanting Jesus’ help. Let’s turn to the scripture, Mark 1:32-34, “That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered near the door. 34 He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons.”
Did you happen to notice that the scriptures say Jesus healed many? He did not heal all of them. Yes, He did heal lots of them, but not all of them. He could have, but he chooses not to. At some point Jesus probably said, “you all need to go home.” We don’t know for sure, but I honestly do believe Jesus did not feel bad sending them home. I believe He trusted God enough to know that there would be another day tomorrow to continue to work, but He needed to take care of Himself. He understood the importance of a good rhythm to life.
The next verse in this passage says this, “Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer.” (Mark 1:35) We need to pattern ourselves from the example of Jesus. We need to all end our days appropriately, without guilt or frustration, trusting God enough that the work can wait until the next day. Then we should care for ourselves by taking some time with God. While this may not be easy to do, consider it a goal, remembering Jesus is always our best example.