Faith Meets Academia

Episode 52: How to Follow Jesus' Work Schedule

• Dr. Adrian Reynolds

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Do you sometimes feel trapped in the routine of a hectic life? This episode is for you?  

Dr. Reynolds explores Jesus’ rhythm of WORK--SOLITUDE--WORK. It's a pattern of strength through solitude seen in Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12–13, and Matthew 14:23. He uses modern science to show how intentional rest restores focus, creativity, and motivation through the stressor detachment model and parasympathetic activation. You’ll learn practical ways to reset your rhythm, like micro-moments of quiet, prayer before decisions, and boundaries that protect your purpose. If you’re ready to trade frantic activity for focused, faithful work, this conversation will help you find your own “solitary place.”

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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely my own and do not reflect or represent the positions, policies, or opinions of my employer, any organization or academic institution with which I am affiliated. This podcast is a personal initiative, and is not connected to my official/ formal duties and responsibilities as a university professor.

SPEAKER_00:

Good morning, friends. Welcome back to Faith Meets Academia. Happy Monday. I pray that your week is off to an amazing start. I hope you had a relaxing, enjoyable weekend. And I pray that this week will be productive. I pray that your work will be blessed. I pray that your finances will be blessed. I pray that you'll have joy, you'll have happiness, peace, and by the end of the week, you can say, I've accomplished at least one goal that I had planned to accomplish. All right, let's dive right in. I really like the title of today's episode, Follow Jesus' Work Schedule. Follow Jesus' Work. Let's face it, and sometimes as super busy working professionals, we feel a little guilty for taking time off for some, even when they're sick. You know, feeling a little guilty for taking time off or stepping back for you know stepping away from just way too many competing responsibilities just to reset, refresh, and re-energize, right? Some of us feel like if we're not going nonstop, just go, go, go, go, go, we're somehow failing ourselves or failing others we're supposed to be working for or serving. But here's the thing: if we are going to follow Jesus as our perfect example, our Lord and Master, if his lifestyle in all practicality is the blueprint for how we should live, then we've got to take a closer look at what we're doing and see how that compares to how he moved on the earth while he was around. Jesus took breaks, okay? I want you to know that. And we're going to talk about scriptures that show that. He had a work schedule that included prayer, total solitude, and rest. And guess what? He still accomplished his mission. He still accomplished the will or the mission as prescribed by God his Father. Yeah, I don't know if you ever noticed, but if we look carefully throughout the scriptures, we see that there was a rhythm to Jesus' ministry. He worked, he served, he healed, and then he withdrew. He stepped aside, he went into solitude, he went into prayer, and then he worked again. This rhythm of work, solitude, work repeatedly in the Gospels. Yes, he teaches, then he prays, he heals, then he goes off into solitude. He serves, he feeds five thousand, and then he goes off into silence. It's a special sacred rhythm that balanced action with restoration or rejuvenation. So even though Jesus carried the weight of the entire world's redemption, he never lived at this non-stop go, go, go frantic pace. His schedule did include prayer, solitude, and rest. So check this out if if the Son of God, Jesus Christ himself, needed time to recharge the human side of him, then what makes us think that we can just run nonstop until we're at the point of burnout and exhaustion and still walk in our purpose. Effectively. I want you to think about where in your week you feel the pressure to keep pushing, keep running, even when you know you need to rest, you need to meditate, you need to pray, maybe just a little bit longer. Think about that. Let's dig deeper into this and let's see some real practical examples of how Jesus applied this rhythm. Let's start with Mark 1 35. Now, in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place, and there he prayed. I mean, there's no better way to start the day than with prayer. I mean, it's the foundation of this rhythm. Luke 5 16. So he himself often, right? The scripture says he did this often. He often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed. He didn't see going off into solitude as, oh, it's taking away from serving the people. It's taking away from being a servant, it's taking away from servant leadership. Oftentimes leaders, ministers, especially. Yes, you know, I'm talking to you. They feel as though, hey, if I go off and I take a vacation, you know, if I take a week or two off, or even just a few days, you know, when I'm I'm supposed to be, you know, feeding the flock, then, you know, I'm just no, that's being selfish. That's being self-centered. You know, the people need me, they need me. Yeah, but they need you whole. They need you not frazzled and burnt out. They need your energy. You can't pour, as they say, from an empty cup. Jesus didn't step aside because he was overwhelmed. He did it to stay aligned. He did it to keep both the human side and the spiritual side of him in alignment. In psychology, this reflects what's called the stressor detachment model. That model is really about the fact that when we mentally and emotionally step away from constant demands, and like I said before, sometimes competing demands, where we feel like basically everything is important at the same time. When we step away from these demands, even if it's just for a few minutes a day, we allow our minds to restore its energy, its focus, its innovation, its creativity. You know, think of it like charging your phone. That pause doesn't stop productivity, it's gonna make it last longer. That pause will sustain the device. Jesus wasn't avoiding his calling when he stepped away. He was consolidating or strengthening his capacity, his human capacity to fulfill it. Yes, I mean, he he was God in human form. I mean, he could have just served and worked and like with no breaks at all. But his his stepping away, his his going off and having his alone time, I truly believe was an example for us to follow. And too often we don't follow that example. So Jesus did step away before he stepped up. What's your solitary place like? How do you find solitude? How do you go off and have some time by yourself to yourself? Just you and God. You know, maybe it's a quiet walk, maybe it's just having a still moment before sunrise, or you know, a few minutes of prayer, you know, before work, or you know, if you're at work, you can't find a quiet, you know, place there. It may, you know, you may go in your car and just have a few minutes, just you and God. Now let's look at how Jesus' solitude often came before or preceded some of his greatest, most impactful moments. Let's look at Luke 6, 12 and 13. Now it came to pass in those days that he went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose twelve whom he also named apostles. So notice the pattern. Right? He went out into the mountains, praying all night. And what happened next? We have the formation of the apostleship, one of the most defining leadership decisions in history, choosing the apostles, came right after a night of prayer. And later, after feeding the 5,000, here's what happened: Matthew 14, 23, 23 to 25. And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Here we go again. And when evening came, he was alone there, but the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the n in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them walking on the sea. So he fed five thousand, he paused, he stepped away, went up into the mountains, prayed. Now here he comes walking on water. You are tenexing, if you will, your impact when you find your me time, as some call it. You deserve the recharge. You deserve the reset. Sometimes I wonder if if some folks believe that they actually deserve to just, you know, sometimes it's like just sit and do nothing. Right? I'm not saying, you know, that should be like three, four hours a day every day. Yeah, yeah, you want to be productive. But go out, find some time in the day. Like that, go just just step outside, feel the sunshine, right? Just five, ten minutes, right? Or find a quiet spot, take a few deep breaths. I'm telling you, it works. It's something I practice, it works. So Jesus engages in prayer, and then you see the majesty of his power following right after that. His solitude led right into his strength. So Jesus' quiet, reflective, prayerful moments preceded his breakthroughs. What what major decision or next step in your life do you think it absolutely needs to begin with solitude and prayer rather than just rushing forward? Well, let's talk about why this rhythm of work, solitude, work, you know, what why it works. Well, when you step away from the hustle and bustle to find some quiet time, this activates what we call the parasympathetic nervous system. That's our our rest and digest state. And when you're in that mode, your stress hormones drop, heart rate steadies, and your body begins to restore balance. You're not in fight or flight mode, right? We're just we're our our bodies, our minds, we're just not built to continuously function without renewal. And Jesus modeled this beautifully. After long, exhausting days of teaching, healing, traveling, walking, he intentionally steps aside to pray. You see, rest wasn't just a reward after his work, it was an inherent part of his work. Rest is not the enemy of your impact. It's what drives it, it's the engine of your impact. There's another psychological concept that uh explains Jesus' rhythm, and it's called decision fatigue. The research shows that the more decisions we make, one after the other, one after the other, the less effective our decision making becomes. So your mind gets tired, your focus blurs, you're just not thinking clearly, you begin to exercise poor judgment, right? I mean, think about how easy it is to, you know, lose patience or make you know impulsive choices after a long day of just tons of small decisions that accumulate to decision fatigue. And let's see how Jesus responded to high-stakes decisions. Let's go back to Luke 6, 12, and 13. But before Jesus chose his 12 disciples, he spent the whole night in prayer. He didn't rely on a tired, beat-up mind to make this decision. He relied on divine direction. He sought clarity. I know that's sort of a buzzword these days, but he sought clarity before making the decision, not after. Jesus prayed before deciding, not after feeling drained and burnt out. So think about your own life. Think about your day-to-day work. Where might decision fatigue be creeping into your life? Your ministry, your family, your work. How might pausing for prayer or meditation shift the quality of the decisions that you're making or impact or influence the quality of the decisions that you're making? Jesus also teaches us something that modern leaders often forget: setting boundaries. Setting boundaries is not avoidance. It's not running away from the work. Setting boundaries is saving your own self. Yeah, it's it's preserving your mental state. After feeding the 5,000, he sent them away. He went up in the mountain to pray. Yeah, the crowds, there they I mean the crowds' needs were real, but Jesus also had to prioritize his relationship with the father. And so by protecting that time, he ensured that he could return refreshed and ready to serve all over again. And in the in the stressor detachment framework, that's called control. It's self-regulation. It's knowing when you need your alone time, your recovery time, and knowing how to use that time effectively. Jesus modeled this by knowing when to say, mm-mm, not now. So he could later on say yes with full presence. I know you're you're not used to talking about you're not you're not you are not even used to thinking about Jesus in this way. But it's in the Bible. It's I mean, I'm giving you scriptures here, like I'm not making this up. Yes, Jesus who was equal with God, the Bible says, who was the word in the beginning. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Yes, the same man, same Jesus. He left this blueprint for us to follow. And sometimes, my friends, being obedient to the voice of God sounds like not now. And not now doesn't mean never. It just means we're going to delay the next big move, the next big step, the next big decision for a few minutes later, because we just need some time away. Is there a boundary that God is prompting you to set? Not as running away from your responsibilities, but just to renew you, to revive you. Jesus' pace wasn't driven by pressure. Jesus' pace, his rhythm, was guided by purpose. It was intentional. It's our purpose that sets the pace. Repeat it with me. Prayer sets the power and purpose sets the pace. Prayer sets the power and purpose sets the pace. Maybe we should build our week around our rest, not our routine. Yeah, that just occurred to me. Build your week around your rest, not around your routine. Jesus worked, served, stepped aside for prayer, and returned for an even greater impact. His greatest moments followed solitude. If you want to sharpen your focus and increase your attempt or increase your attention span, think about what you're doing to recharge. As a complement to this episode, you can check out episode 41, Mental Health and Ministry, Caring for Yourself to Lead Others, or episode 46, How Faith-Based Leaders Can Support Mental Health Without Replacing Professional Support Services. I pray this episode has been a blessing to you, and that it'll contribute to your having an even more productive week than you had last week because you carved out some alone time from each day of this week to step away, reset, and return to make an even greater impact. Love you. God bless you. Have a wonderful week.