John the Baptist was dead. Murdered in cold blood; executed because he spoke the truth from God. John was probably a distant cousin to Jesus (their mothers were related (Luke 1:36)) as well as being the prophet to announce Jesus to the world. John baptised Jesus and then diminished his ministry so that his followers could follow Jesus. So Jesus would have had a great personal sadness when he heard of the shocking news.
 
At the same time, the disciples had just come back from a time of mission, sent out in twos by Jesus, and they wanted to report back what had happened (Luke 9:1-6). Jesus called them away from the crowds to rest and reflect on what had happened (Mark 6:30-32). They needed time away from the ministry to put everything into God's perspective, and to have physical refreshment.
 
However, the appetite of the crowds was insatiable: they wanted to hear and see more of Jesus. So when Jesus and the disciples arrived at the isolated village of Bethsaida by boat (Luke 9:10), they were greeted by a mass of people who had travelled around the lake by the footpath. The agenda changed. Instead of a period of relaxation and prayerful reflection, the needs of the people attracted Christ's compassion and there was more kingdom-work to do. Jesus healed the sick and, as they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34), they needed to hear God speaking to them.
 
Through many years of pastoral ministry, I have learned that God-sent kingdom-work must have priority over everything else. Personal hardship, sorrow, pain and grief, and even the need to rest after an arduous ministry, are not good reasons to say 'No' to the Lord when His agenda is different. Effective service is often best delivered when we are least able, and solely dependent on the Lord and His energy (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3). That is not to say that holidays (holy-days) and Sabbaths (stop-days) are not important, they are; but not more important than serving the Lord in weakness when He commands. Wherever your ministry, in the home, office, factory, school, college, fields, transport systems, health clinic, public services or forces ... serve the Lord in whatever circumstances He brings kingdom-work to you; trusting Him to provide strength for the task and refreshment in His time.