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resting

One of my mentors recently said to me, “Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is rest.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m the kind of person that needs to have something going on every hour of every day. There are so many people that God has given me the wonderful opportunity of befriending, that I don’t have enough time to spend with all of them. If I could, I would stop working and simply spend my time listening to their stories, adventures, dreams, hopes, goals, fears, worries, concerns, and doubts. However, I cannot simply quit going to school, or working, or ministering at my church. So I often find myself juggling a ton of things at one time. Unfortunately this leaves me with very little time to rest.

A couple of semesters ago I found myself taking a full load of classes, working three shifts a week at a coffee shop, and serving at my church at least twice a week (which is about an hour away). On the mornings I had to work at the coffee shop I woke up at 5:30am to open, worked till noon, and then headed back to school for class. Along with all of these responsibilities I usually didn’t go to sleep till 2 am because late at night was the only time I could see friends. I was actually able to keep this up for a couple months without missing a beat, or dropping any of the things I was juggling. Then out of nowhere (or so it seemed) it all came crashing down. My body rebelled against me. For two weeks straight I slept through every shift I was supposed to work and was late to nearly every class. It didn’t matter how many alarms I set I simply could not wake up. I felt like I was in a walking coma. Needless to say my grades suffered, my boss was (unhappy), and I was practically incapable of social interaction.

I wouldn’t slow down… So God slowed me down.

See I had the mentality that I needed to be doing all of these thing or else I would let somebody down. I wanted to make my Mom proud in my school work, I wanted my friends to know they were important to me, and I wanted to serve at my church to help where ever I could. Above all I felt that if I was going to make God proud I needed to do as much as possible with what he had given me.

But I realized later that I wasn’t in control and that nothing I can do on my own would make God proud. Jesus tells his disciples, “I am the vine; you are the branches, Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

This one of the biggest differences between the Living God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the leaders of all the other religions of the world. While other religions are based on what we do or what we have to offer, God simply asks us to depend on him, to trust him.

One of my favorite passages from the book of Psalms is this:

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart…”

Eugene Peterson translates this passage like this:

Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you. I learned God-worship when my pride was shattered. Heart-shattered lives ready for love don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

See, the root of our falleness is in the belief that we don’t need God. We get ourselves into trouble whenever we choose to live our lives our way, disregarding what is that God has called us to, a life of dependence on him.

One of the greatest passages that shows God’s understanding of our need for rest is when Jesus is calling people to himself. He cries out to us offering us something real, something that we all are longing for, rest.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

And you will find rest for your souls…

While walking with Christ is about being obedient to his commandments of love, and sharing this truth with others, ultimately it is about finding rest in Jesus Christ. It’s about coming to rely upon God in our complete weakness and brokenness. It is then that we realize that when we are weak, HE is strong. And He is VERY strong.

I was recently reminded of this great truth by a friend of mine. I was sharing some of the struggles I’ve been through and talking about how grateful I was to have a morning off. My friend replied with a poetic revelation.

God is good to give those days that you need so much
days that refresh your soul and give you strength
He is faithful all the time

So if you are weak, or tired, or struggling, or burdened, or worried, I pray that you turn to the living God, the sculpture of the heavens and earth. I pray that you would realize God is crying out to you, offering you rest for your soul.

May we all come to fully depend on the God that gives life and breath to all the earth. May we put aside our pride and seek help in the one that gives us peace.

Philippians 4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Just Sayins All…

Rusty

I’ve heard so many people say so many times, “There’s just not enough time in the day.” A lot of the times, it really does feel that way. Whether its work, school, meetings, projects, errands, chores, appointments, get togethers, hanging out with friends, dinners with family, or so on, our days are always filled with things to do. A lot of times, I can tell you where I’ll be at any given time in the upcoming week. It’s just crazy how busy we can get.

In Freedom of Work I talked about our need to be challenged, to have something to do. I still think that this is an important drive given to us by God, but I think sometimes we can over do it, at least I do. I love meeting new people. Every person everywhere has a unique story filled with adventures, lessons, and miracles. And I know very few things better than hearing another person’s story. Well I often find myself with a good problem to have. I have grown so close to so many people, that I struggle to make time to see them all. If I could I would quit everything and just go around spending time with all of these people, having lunch, talking, playing putt putt, bowling, getting coffee or whatever. It doesn’t matter what we would do, I would just love to be able to spend time with everyone building deeper and stronger friendships. But I can’t do that, college is expensive and gasoline is even worse. So I’ve had two jobs this summer to really prepare for this year. After you stick work and visiting friends into the schedule there isn’t much room for anything else. But still there’s always more.

It’s really rare to find the time in the day to just sit down for ten minutes and take a couple of deep breaths, much less a couple of hours to reflect and ponder the mysteries of life. Many of us wish longingly for the end of the day when we can finally take off our work clothes, slip into something comfy and just sit. But even then when work or school is over, there is still more. We dream of sleeping in and ironically whenever we sleep in, we wake up more tired than before because we over sleep. I’m reminded of the saying, “if it’s not one thing it’s another.”

I think that deep down inside we really just want rest. Not necessarily sleep, but rest. Sleep is great, I love sleep, but rest is something beyond a physical recharge. When God talks about rest, it’s like He’s talking about a time of rejuvenation and restoration. It’s a time when we go from being weak, tired, and broken to strong, exhilarated, and complete. Jesus offers this rest to us in the eleventh chapter of Matthew:

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.

Jesus offers us a better way. He invites us to come and learn from Him, to follow Him daily. He knows real rest and wants to share it with us. That is why He was able to do the things that He was. Jesus isn’t trying to add something for us to do each week. He’s not commanding us to go to bible studies or prayer meetings, rather He is inviting us to do everything following in His footsteps… the unforced rhythms of grace. What could possibly be more beautiful than that? He’s not telling us to give up everything we’re doing to go live in a monastery, but He’s calling us to live life in Him. Jesus is offering life, rejuvenation, and restoration. It’s a testament to what He’s already done for us.

So will you accept Jesus’ invitation to follow in His footsteps, to learn from Him. Will you keep company with Him and learn to live freely and lightly? There may not be enough hours in the day to do the giant lists of things to do that we all have. There may not be enough time to hear every story from everyone everywhere. And there may always still be something more, but one way or another God has offered us peace and rest through His son, Jesus. Let us learn what it’s like to be the Energizer Bunny with God as our endless power supply.

Just Sayins All…

Rusty