NOV 1 | When Jesus Told Exhausted Parents to Rest: A Biblical Guide to Mark 6:31
The Permission You've Been Waiting For
Have you ever experienced that moment? You finally sit down after hours of parenting chaos, and immediately you hear it—the Lego avalanche in the other room, the washing machine buzzer demanding attention, or your child calling your name for the fourteenth time that hour. You think to yourself, "I literally just sat down."
This is the reality of modern parenting that nobody warns you about: you're never actually off the clock. There are no lunch breaks, no weekends, no "out of office" auto-replies. And if you're truly present and engaged with your children, you're likely running on fumes by Tuesday morning.
That's why Mark 6:31 hits differently for parents. When Jesus looked at his exhausted disciples and said, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while," he wasn't making a suggestion—he was giving a divine command. And today, exhausted parents need to hear this ancient wisdom more than ever.
Understanding Mark 6:31 in Context: Why Jesus Commanded Rest
The Scene Before the Rest
To fully appreciate Jesus's command to rest, we need to understand what was happening in Mark 6:30-31. The disciples had just returned from their first independent mission trip—a monumental moment in their spiritual development. They'd been healing people, casting out demons, and preaching about the kingdom of God.
When they reconnected with Jesus, they were probably talking over each other with a mixture of excitement and exhaustion, eager to report everything they'd experienced. But here's the critical detail Mark includes: "Many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat."
No leisure even to eat. Let that sink in for a moment.
The Parenting Parallel
If you're a parent, you immediately understand this experience. You've eaten cold chicken nuggets while standing at the kitchen sink. You've scarfed down your child's leftover macaroni and cheese at 2 PM and called it lunch. You've gone hours without a bathroom break because someone always needs something. The disciples' experience in Mark 6 mirrors the daily reality of countless parents.
This parallel isn't accidental. Jesus saw people serving, giving, and pouring themselves out—and he recognized the unsustainability of their pace. His response wasn't to praise their martyrdom or encourage them to push through. He didn't guilt them about self-care being selfish or tell them to pray harder. Instead, he issued a clear directive: Come away and rest.
The Greek Word Study: What "Rest" Really Means
Beyond Taking a Nap
The Greek word Jesus used for "rest" in Mark 6:31 is anapauō (ἀναπαύω), and understanding its full meaning transforms how we think about biblical rest. While the word certainly includes the idea of physical rest or sleep, its meaning extends much deeper.
Anapauō means to cease from labor, to refresh oneself, to give relief. It carries the connotation of intentional restoration—not just stopping activity, but actively receiving renewal. This is the same word Jesus uses in Matthew 11:28 when he extends the famous invitation: "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Active Rest vs. Passive Rest
Understanding anapauō helps us see that biblical rest isn't passive—it's intentionally restorative. Jesus wasn't merely telling his disciples to stop moving; he was calling them to engage in the active work of restoration. For parents, this distinction matters immensely.
Rest isn't about achieving some Pinterest-perfect aesthetic with candles, bubble baths, and journaling by a window while soft music plays. While those things can be restful for some people, biblical rest is far more practical and accessible. It's about intentionally stepping back from the demands to receive renewal in whatever form that takes in your current season of life.
Why Parents Struggle with Rest: The Cultural Barriers
The Productivity Idol
Modern Western culture has made an idol of productivity. We measure our worth by our output, our busyness by our importance, and our value by what we accomplish. Parents feel this pressure acutely—there's always one more load of laundry, one more email to answer, one more room to clean, one more activity to schedule.
But here's the truth that conflicts with our cultural programming: God designed rest into the very fabric of creation. In Genesis 2:2, we read that "on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done."
Did God need to rest? Was the Creator of the universe actually tired? Of course not. God was modeling something essential for humanity. He was establishing a rhythm: work then rest, give then receive, pour out then get filled back up. This rhythm isn't optional—it's embedded in creation's design.
The Guilt Factor
Many parents, especially Christian parents, struggle with intense guilt around rest. We've been told that good parents sacrifice everything. We've internalized the message that our needs should always come last. We feel selfish when we pause for ourselves.
But when you skip rest—when you run yourself into the ground trying to be everything for everyone—you're not being noble or sacrificial. You're actually working against how God made you. You're rejecting the wisdom of the Creator who built Sabbath into the cosmos before sin even entered the world.
What Biblical Rest Looks Like for Parents Today
Redefining Rest for Your Season
One of the most liberating truths about Mark 6:31 is that rest doesn't require ideal circumstances. Jesus called his disciples to rest knowing full well that it might be interrupted—and it was. Just verses later in Mark 6, crowds of five thousand people show up, and Jesus spends the day teaching and miraculously feeding them all.
The peaceful retreat got interrupted. The rest wasn't perfect. But Jesus still called them to it because the invitation to rest was good and necessary and holy, even if the execution was imperfect.
For parents in the trenches, this is incredibly freeing. Your rest doesn't have to look like anyone else's. It doesn't have to meet some external standard. In your current season, rest might look like:
Sitting in your car for five extra minutes after arriving home before walking into the chaos
Letting your children watch an extra episode of their favorite show so you can stare at your phone without talking
Ordering pizza instead of cooking because you just can't tonight
Saying no to one more commitment on the schedule without explaining or justifying yourself
Taking a walk around the block alone while your spouse handles dinner
Going to bed at 8:30 PM without apology
Turning off your phone for one entire evening
All of these count. Jesus isn't looking for perfection—he's looking out for your sustainability.
Practical Steps to Embrace Rest
First: Give yourself permission. You are not being lazy. You are being obedient. Jesus commanded rest. This isn't a suggestion you can take or leave based on your productivity levels—it's a divine directive from the Son of God.
Second: Identify what actually restores you. Not what Instagram tells you should be restful. Not what works for your friend or your spouse. What genuinely gives you a moment to breathe and helps you feel more like yourself? Start there.
Third: Communicate your needs clearly. Many parents suffer in silence, expecting others to intuitively know when they're at the breaking point. Your spouse, your family, your community—they can't read your mind. Learn to say, "I need twenty minutes alone" or "I need help with bedtime tonight."
Fourth: Schedule rest like you schedule everything else. If it's not on the calendar, it won't happen. Block out time for rest the same way you block out time for doctor's appointments and soccer practice.
Fifth: Lower your standards temporarily. The house can be messier. The meals can be simpler. The activities can be fewer. What can you let go of for this season?
Teaching Your Children About Rest
One of the most powerful aspects of embracing biblical rest is what it models for your children. When your kids see you rest—not hustle, not perform, not prove your worth through constant productivity, but simply be—you're teaching them something revolutionary.
You're showing them that their worth isn't in their accomplishments. You're demonstrating that it's okay to be human, to have limits, to need renewal. You're giving them permission to rest before they develop the guilt and anxiety around it that so many adults carry.
In a culture that will constantly tell your children they're not doing enough, being enough, or achieving enough, you have the opportunity to show them a different way. You can embody the truth that we are human beings, not human doings.
The Theology of Rest: It's Deeper Than Self-Care
Rest as Spiritual Discipline
In Christian circles, we often hear about spiritual disciplines like prayer, fasting, Bible reading, and worship. But rest is equally a spiritual discipline—perhaps one of the most counter-cultural disciplines we can practice.
Rest requires faith. It requires believing that God is in control when we stop controlling. It requires trusting that the world won't fall apart if we pause. It requires accepting our limitations and recognizing that only God is infinite.
When you rest, you're making a theological statement: I am not God. I am finite. I have limits. And that's okay because God is still on the throne.
Rest as Worship
There's a beautiful sense in which rest is worship. When you cease striving and trust God to sustain what matters, you're acknowledging his sovereignty. When you admit your need for restoration, you're recognizing your dependence on the Creator.
The Sabbath principle isn't just about physical renewal—it's about remembering who God is and who you are in relation to him. You are the beloved child, not the savior. You are the sheep, not the shepherd. You are held, not the one holding everything together.
Addressing Common Objections
"But I Don't Have Time to Rest"
This is the most common objection parents raise, and it's understandable. Your life genuinely is packed with non-negotiable responsibilities. But here's the paradox: you don't have time not to rest.
Without rest, you become less patient, less creative, less present, less effective. You make more mistakes. You lose your temper more easily. You miss the beauty in small moments. Rest isn't stolen time from productivity—it's the foundation that makes everything else work.
"My Kids Are Too Young/Too Busy/Too Needy"
Every season of parenting has unique challenges. Parents of newborns face sleep deprivation. Parents of toddlers face constant physical demands. Parents of teens face emotional intensity and logistics nightmares. There's never a "perfect" time to rest.
But that's precisely why you must find ways to incorporate rest into every season. It will look different in each phase, but the need remains constant. The question isn't whether you need rest—it's how you'll adapt the practice of rest to your current reality.
"Rest Feels Selfish"
This objection reveals how deeply we've internalized broken messaging about self-sacrifice. But consider this: Jesus himself regularly withdrew from crowds to rest and pray. Was Jesus being selfish? Of course not. He understood that sustainable ministry—sustainable anything—requires rhythm.
Taking care of yourself isn't selfish; it's stewardship. God gave you one body, one mind, one life. Running it into the ground isn't noble—it's poor stewardship of God's gift.
The Challenge: This Weekend's Rest Assignment
Here's a simple but potentially revolutionary challenge for this weekend: Pick one thing—just one—that feels restful to you in your current season. Then do it without guilt, without earning it, and without apologizing.
Do it because Jesus looked at exhausted people doing good work and said, "Stop. Come away. Rest."
You're not a machine. You're not a robot. You're a human being made in the image of a God who rested on the seventh day. And if rest was good enough for him, it's good enough for you.
The Legos will still be there tomorrow. The laundry will wait. And your kids? They need a rested parent more than they need a perfect one.
Come away and rest a while.
Accepting the Invitation
Mark 6:31 isn't just a historical moment in Jesus's ministry—it's a standing invitation to every exhausted parent, caregiver, and servant. Jesus sees you in the chaos. He knows you haven't had leisure even to eat. And he's extending the same invitation he gave those first disciples two thousand years ago: Come away and rest.
This isn't permission you need to earn. It's grace you need to receive. The Creator of rest is inviting you to experience what he designed for your flourishing.
Will you accept the invitation?
An Invitation to go Deeper….
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