…the stuff that takes time from the Most important…
…the stuff we don’t like to think/talk about…
…where we are failing…
…where we aren’t performing up to spec…
…the stuff that weighs us down and embarrasses us when the effects are evidenced in our lives…
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to deal with this baggage so it no longer holds us back in the way it has? What we need is rest from our hurts, rest from our habits, and rest from our hang-ups.
Jesus says to us, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”(Matt. 11:28-30) [1]
But the culture in which we live, isn’t very conducive to finding “soul rest”. We are under constant pressure to perform, to produce, to proact, to project. So, we stuff our tiredness in our back pocket to deal with later, and march on. Sure enough, soon we forget we are tired and just act. We learn that focusing on activity, some activity, any activity shields our minds and hearts from the rest and nourishment we need…and we live on.
Problem is, we weren’t made to live this way. In the beginning, God took time to rest and reflect at the end of each day and was able to call what He had done, “Good” each and every day. Additionally, the very day after we as a species were created, as I understand it, our creator exemplified for us, rest.
When we venture out on our own for too long “conducting ‘busyness’ as usual” (even if with God’s permission assumed by His silence on those matters) we find ourselves no longer focused on God, no longer focused on Jesus, no longer following His Spirit. We confuse fruitfulness with productivity. Jesus is found, apparently, in rest, which he supplies, when we come to Him.
In order to really find rest in Jesus we need to 1) come to Him and 2) accept His yoke and 3) learn from Him. This constitutes abiding in Him (John 15:5). “Abiding consists of all those activities of body and mind that put me in the place where I can receive life from God, including such things as prayer, sleep, solitude, eating, hobbies, and long conversations. Of course, none of these activities in and of themselves guarantee that I will be abiding. They become abiding when I learn how to meet God in them.”[2]
Yes, there is effort involved in the rest we need. Rest isn’t related to slothfulness. Slothfulness enables more areas for the enemy to hide new snares or renew old ones – think TELEVISION. I am reminded by the book quoted above, that Steven Covey feels that if we spend too much time in tasks that are both urgent and important we burn out and spend (as payment to ourselves) way too much time in tasks that are neither urgent nor important (sloth-building activities). On the other hand, rest isn’t without work.
Part of the effort in coming to Jesus and accepting his yoke is actively learning humility and gentleness.
(to be continued)
[1]Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Mt 11:28-30
[2]Exley, Richard ; Galli, Mark ; Ortberg, John: Dangers, Toils & Snares : Resisting the Hidden Temptations of Ministry. Sisters, Or. : Multnomah Books, 1994 (Mastering Ministry's Pressure Points), S. 56
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