Ministry means serving others.  Jesus spent so much time teaching and healing the sick that He made it an example to us to stop and spend time alone with God.  He showed His disciples how important it was to take time to break for a meal before they got overdone.  Ministry to those who need it is vital, but it should never take 100% of your time.

Think about your own jobs; companies are required by law to give their employees proper breaks, but does everyone take those breaks? No. Some work themselves to death trying to get in that extra assignment or make that extra bonus, but Jesus showed us that is not the most important thing in life.  Stop and spend time with the Father so that you can be renewed to truly give your best to others, not your worn-out self from doing too much.

Prophecies have always given us hope that God knows the future, and that He knows what we need and do not need.  He prophesied through His people that a Messiah would come and take our sins away, and He did! God became flesh and called Himself Jesus, our salvation.  Jesus is God with us, Emmanuel.  God’s Word gives us hope for the future; we must lean into His Word and let it speak to us His purpose and plan.  We must let our faith be built by the assurance that God never fails and His word never returns void.