Quiet

Quiet
Words of Faith 12-28-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 7
[24] Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. [25] In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. [26] The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

This text tells us a great deal. For starters, Jesus was not afraid to cross cultural and ethnic barriers. Though the time to focus on reaching the Gentiles with the Gospel was still decades away, Jesus traveled into the region that is modern-day Lebanon. Contact with gentiles in such an area would render a Jew ritually unclean. Still, Jesus had made it clear that such man-made barriers were coming down as the Kingdom of God drew near.
So why did Jesus go here? There are two possibilities. One, Jesus needed a rest. He needed to get out of Galilee for a while. The second possibility was that Jesus came specifically to speak with a gentile woman of Syrian Phoenician descent. Many assume that the meeting of Jesus with this woman was by chance. But dealing with this woman and her need was the only thing Jesus did here besides rest. We will get to that story tomorrow. I think both are true– Jesus came for a rest, and He heard and answered a truly important need in a place of rest.
Rest is not just okay; it is good, vital, and important. God created a whole day just for rest. Jesus was human and got physically exhausted like all of us. We have observed throughout the Gospels that Jesus would regularly withdraw when weariness occurred. But it is possible to withdraw to rest but also to be intentional about the call of God. It is actually okay to unplug the phones, tune out the world, and, at the same time, be responsive to the call of God.
The truth is that we do not have to respond to every need in the world to be responsive to God's call and plan. Boundaries are okay. Quiet is good, even commanded. And one of the remarkable things is that when we are quiet, we will often clarify what is really important amid the many urgent demands of life.

Have you had some quiet lately? The Word says: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). One translation says: "Be still and discover that I am God." Quiet is a tool for discovering who God is. You can do so and listen with greater clarity for the one essential thing He may want you to do rather than the many urgent things that keep breaking in.

Lord, help me to find a place of peace today. Help me to hear with clarity the essential thing you want me to do. In Jesus' way and in His name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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