My small group was focusing on the topic of REST this week and it seems fitting to share as we head into the weekend.
Do you take time to rest?
Are you getting filled-up regularly? Or are you living in depletion?
If it’s the latter, you’re not alone. And aside from not being alone, there seem to be no shortage of reasons why our body, mind, soul can live in this hazardous state.
One thing that seems to be needed to help alleviate this, is rest.
Physical rest. Spiritual rest.
If Jesus needed to take time to rest...and if in the creation of the world God took time to rest, just think of how important it must be for us to do as well.
King David said it this way, when he was overwhelmed and desired to have the intimacy of rest: “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and the storm”
– Psalm 55: 6-8
Do you see his almost courtship with rest? And this is where we can miss the real benefit and healing power of rest, is when we skip-out on the intimacy of it; the intimacy with Jesus that we can experience in rest.
There is need for physical rest. There is need for mental and emotional rest. But if we simply take a break from routine…even if we leave the city…or even the country (remember those days?)…and we miss out on intentional intimacy with Jesus, we miss out on really addressing our depletion on all the levels we’ve mentioned.
While it would be amazing to be able to fly away, like David speaks of... I love that God will meet us where we’re at – if we will look for Him…listen for Him…make time to quiet ourselves and give Him room to move about as He wishes.
As much as each of us can be a force-to-be-reckoned-with, we’re not near as effective when we’re depleted…when we haven’t taken time for the intimacy of rest.
So, as you enter into the weekend, may you seek refuge and rest in time alone with the Divine. May you value and develop a taste for the intimacy with Jesus that can be found in rest. And if the process is entirely new and you’ve no idea where or how to start: find a room, close the door (lock it if you have children), close your eyes, sit, kneel, hands open, palms up, and maybe these words could help…
Jesus, you know not only the pace of my life, but also how depleted my soul is. Thank You that You are here in this place with me. Help me to rest with you. Speak to me however you like. Restore my soul. Refill my mind and my heart. And remind me of all I have in You.
And try a few moments of simply sitting in silence.
May this practice become a habit for us – doing more for us than being busy and productive could ever do.
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