All posts tagged rest

image of man running in a hamster wheel

When Will You Stop?

I don’t know anyone that isn’t busy and on the go.  Regardless of profession, age, gender or income.  Everyone these days is on the run, all the time, running a gauntlet of stress, responsibility, and expectations.  Everything feels like a competition against a nameless character that goes by many different names: “they”, “them” and “everybody”.  Pastor’s do this, only we sanctify it by replacing the ambiguous “everybody” with the name of God and his Church.

It doesn’t take long for us to lose our grip on why we are running so hard and so fast.  Our priorities get jumbled.  Massive chunks of time fall out of our hands and then, if we’re so blessed, we wake up one day and realize that we’ve missed many of the things that make life beautiful.  We’ve spent our most precious resources on the least precious demands and there is no way to get that time back.

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468 days ago /  Tagged: , , 0

Enjoy What Makes Life Beautiful

I preached on keeping the Sabbath this weekend and studying the topic was a loud reminder to me of the importance of getting off the crazy carnival ride we’re on most of the time to take a breath.  The importance of weekly rest goes all the way back to creation and the nature and character of God.  God stopped to take in and enjoy all that He had done during the first 6 days of creation.  His greatness didn’t diminish when He rested.  His glory doesn’t come only from doing but also from His being.

I think most Americans are taught the opposite.  A strong work ethic is equated with never having to rest.  Taking time for solitude, reflection, and rest makes us feel a little guilty, even apologetic.  That’s insane!  God made us with finite amounts of emotional and physical energy.  Rest is a necessary part of life and serves to remind us of our weakness and dependence on God to supply our needs.

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702 days ago /  Tagged: , , , 8

You Are More Than What You Do

tiredI’m on vacation.  It’s odd to me that we don’t ever realize how much we needed something until we have it (or lose it).  Having nothing to do but rest and play for a week, I’m realizing that one of the things that rest (sabbath) does is it keeps our work in perspective.

Let me explain.  I’m a pastor.  It’s who I am, but it’s also what I do.  This also means that there isn’t a clear line drawn between what I do, who I am, and my relationship with God.  They are all happening at the same time, most of the time.  That’s a great blessing, but it can also get a little weird at times.

It becomes easy to begin thinking that what I do (and how well I do it), and my relationship with God are the same.  That’s not good.  My approval rating with God begins to rise and fall based on how well I preached, counseled, or led this week.

But, I’m sitting here looking at the beach and not doing any ministry outside of loving my family.  And you know what?  I think that Jesus loves me the same.

I think one of the reasons that God ordained the need for rest from the moment of creation is, in part, to remind us that we are more than what we do. We are objects of mercy.  Objects of His relentless love.

When we forget that, we forget ourselves.

953 days ago /  Tagged: , , 1