Mark 6:31  Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.

Compassion fatigue. Burnout. Church-worker stress. These are some of the most dreaded maladies today. And they're afflicting the best kinds of people - those who want to help others in Christian love. There's just too much to do and too little time in which to do it! Counseling, teen problems, food pantries, handouts on the street, clothing drives, money for every cause in the book - compassion is stretched until the passion is wrung out of it.

Have your inner fires cooled? Has stress wrenched compassion from your heart? Jesus knows what you are facing. He saw His own followers pressed on all sides, fast-forwarding their prayers for healing, unable to stop and eat. He saw and stated simply, "Come with Me...to a quiet place and get some rest." Stop, rest, find quiet, get away, refresh. These are the urgings of our Lord Himself. Remember, He regularly withdrew to be alone and pray.
 

However, remember as you face your fatigue that the mercies of your Lord endure forever. Remember that His compassion fails not. Indeed, the constant compassion of God for fallen humanity includes you. His refreshment for you is in the promise of His constant presence. And when you have been restored to full strength, it will be His hand lifting you up, His arm on your shoulder sending you back out into the world, and His love in your acts of energetic compassion.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,