The age old idiom goes “Busy as a bee”. But when the cold weather sets in the cool morning forces bees to slow down, conserve energy, and then, as the day warms they become more active. Today was our first cool morning of September and this little bee was camped out on our porch waiting for the sun to warm the air and it’s little fuzzy body. Personally, I thought it was dead, but first impressions aren’t always what they seem to be are they.
Far too often it seems many of us feel that we have to be as busy as a bee all the time. It’s the pattern of our society to push, stretch, and wring every morsel out of every waking day. Jesus didn’t see it that way, nor did his life demonstrate a state of constant busyness. He often rested and restored his soul. He made time to pray and to be alone.
John 12:36 says that Jesus “…went away and hid Himself from them.” In Luke 4:32 it says “When day came, Jesus left and went to a secluded place…” In Mark 1:35 it says “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” It is a behavior that was modeled by Christ, so shouldn’t we consider it to be an important part of our lives as well?
Sometimes bumble bees need to simply enjoy the gracious gift of warmth and rest that God provides to them without their even asking for it. Sometimes we need to be at rest and be thankful for the blessings that God provides to us that we don’t even ask for. In those quiet moments we can warm ourselves in his loving kindness and grace.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another..." 