The holiday season is now upon us although as I write this thought there are grey skies and the news is reporting a tornado has hit the City of Birmingham. The weather may not be as we would expect for the summer holidays, but yes they have come around again.

In a society which talks a lot about stress and the effects that it has on people, we all know about the importance of taking time to rest. Yet, we are not always very good at resting for there is always something else that we can be doing and so we go from one activity to another.

While Jesus was on earth there was a constant flow of people wanting His attention, wanting to asking Him questions, seeking His guidance and wanting healing. Jesus could have spent all His time going from place to place meeting the people’s needs without taking time to rest. However, Jesus lead by example and took time out to rest and time to be with God. This meant that Jesus was revitalised so that He could continue to have an effective ministry with the people.

As Christians we need to follow Jesus’ example and take time out to rest. Let us seek to put aside the demands of everyday life and just take the time to be in the presence of God. Just as with Jesus, this time of quietness allows us to recuperate, seek God’s guidance and be revitalised so we like Jesus can have an effective ministry with the people that we meet.

‘God says, “Be quiet and know that I am God” (Psalm 46: 10). You may not be going away during this month, but take some time to be with God May you all have a relaxing and beneficial month of August.

May God bless you.

Louise Wood
Captain