Tag Archives: rest

Restless

I struggle with restlessness. Sometimes it looks like frustration that the world is so broken and a feeling of powerlessness to change it. Other times it looks like a desire to do more, be more, and maybe even be somewhere else. I think it’s influenced by culture, both in the world and in the church. As a working mom, the world tells me I need to be 100% mom and 100% committed to work. I can never quite measure up to the world’s expectations. The church’s influence is a little different, and can be just as dangerous if not viewed from the right perspective. It says I need to be a great wife, a godly example to my children, involved in church activities, and volunteering to serve. It all feels like too much sometimes. Restless creates an instability of temperament, sometimes on a high of “I can do ALL THE THINGS!” only to crash and burn when I can’t keep up, leading to a low of “I can’t do ANYTHING right!”

So when Paul writes about, 

Scripture Card – Philippians 4:11-13Download

This is a man who has been chased out of town, beaten, imprisoned, participated in the martyr and imprisonment of Christians, shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, and on and on. But he’s also traveled all over the place, made disciples, had an encounter with Jesus Christ that left him blind, been healed of blindness, and reached the previously unreached on the front lines building the Church. How can he possibly ride out the highs and lows of life with a spirit of contentment? 

I think there are two ways: gratitude and a view of eternity.

Gratitude

Gratitude can only be accomplished through a right relationship with Jesus Christ. If we aren’t ready to acknowledge that the God who created the universe stepped down and became a Man to save us from all the ways we’ve messed up and all the good we didn’t feel like doing, it’s hard to be grateful. Only a person who knows they deserve death but God loved them so much He saved them can be truly grateful. The overwhelming gratitude for our salvation permeates the rest of our lives. We can be grateful for all the big things and the little things in our lives because our soul has been redeemed and is in right relationship with God. 

God knows the world isn’t right…yet. He hears the cries of the hurting, feels the pain of the oppressed, and carried the weight of sin all the way to the cross. 

He promises He’s big enough to handle our restlessness:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:6-7

He trades our anxiety for peace when we approach His throne with a spirit of gratitude.

Again in 1 Thessalonians He promises to still our restless hearts when we:

Scripture Card – 1 Thessalonians 18:23-24Download

We can find rest and peace in a world of ongoing turmoil knowing that God is ultimately in charge, He is good, and He has a plan for the redemption of the world. We can do the good things He sets out for us, knowing that He often calls us to more than we can handle both because He wants us to rely on His divine strength and because He knows we’re often tempted to take credit for the good only He can accomplish.

Eternity

The other way to settle our restless hearts is to place our peace in eternity rather than the present time. Depending on the day, and sometimes even the hour, our lives can swing from excitement to despair and confidence to insecurity. The only way to stabilize our souls is to keep our eyes on God and His promise to make all things right in the end.

“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

1 Peter 3:13

God isn’t limited by time and space. He is able to see the beginning from the end, the entire story all at once. We can have peace knowing that He is making all things new, even when we can’t see it. We know that He is working for good in us and through us, even when we can’t see it. And we know that He is coming back to make all things right, even if we don’t know when that will be.

Scripture Card – Revelation 21:4-5Download

There will be a time when all is made right. If our heart is set in the perspective of eternity, our soul can find rest now.

Rest

There will be a time when all is made right. If our heart is set in the perspective of eternity, our soul can find rest now.

Rest in Me

I know it’s cliche to say it, but I love fall. It’s my favorite season. The colors, the breezes, and the sun coming through the trees quiets my soul. It’s like creation exhales; the wind through the leaves a gentle breath of letting go. Staring out our back window, I watch as the leaves slowly drift toward the ground. Fall feels like rest to me, like the world is slowing down to slumber for a little while. Every year I try to get out and enjoy the season, going on long drives with my mom, hunting for pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, and picking apples at the orchard. 

I soak it all in, seeing God in the sunshine peeking through the clouds, hear Him when the tree frogs sing to one another, and feel a sense of comfort looking up at the fall clouds like a blanket in the sky reminding me that He covers me in His love. 

Life can get busy. It can be hard. And often it doesn’t look the way we think it should. We carry the stress of getting it done, fighting on, and changing our little part of the world, thinking it’s our job, our duty even, to always be moving forward. 

As the seasons change, I feel like God is whispering to us in the gentle breeze through the leaves. He’s asking us to come rest in Him, to lean in close, allowing Him to embrace us. And in that place, He whispers His love and His provision, “Come and rest a while in my arms. Stop and let me hold you.”

Sometimes we just need to know we’re loved…no matter what; that God takes pleasure in us just because we are His. It takes the pressure to please, to change ourselves, and to do good in the world off our shoulders and places the load back where it belongs. He is the Creator of all things. He is all-knowing and all-seeing. He can handle it. We are invited to partner with Him but He is always leading the way, clearing the path, and moving the mountains in front of us. Change, movement, progress, breakthrough – they all only come through His power in His Name.

Take a deep breath and know He is there, close to you. Stop and notice all the good around you, even if you feel like there’s not much good in you. He wants us to take the time to sit in His Presence. He wants us to come close to Him, even if it means stopping all the other work that needs to be done.

‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Luke 10:38-42

No matter where we are or where we’re going, how much we’re doing or how much purpose and fulfillment we find in where we are now, God is with us. His love never changes and His hand is always upon us. He will never leave us and never stop loving us.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39

Draw us closer to You today, Lord. Let us rest in the assurance of Your love, Your provision, and Your direction for our lives. We surrender, knowing that You will not fail. We call out, “Abba, Papa” in the simplest language of love. We pause to breathe in Your Presence, here, in this moment. We thank you that you never change. We thank you for Your love and Your ultimate expression of that love, coming to earth to die for us so we may be made clean, made whole, and adopted into your family. Thank you that when we reach out our arms, You embrace us in Yours. Grant us peace as we draw near and rest in You. Amen.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

Busy Season

It’s back to school time and that means busy. So much to do – school supplies, orientation, activities. It all piles on this time of year. And if you’re anything like me, you probably don’t have time to read this – so I’ll be quick. 

When life gets busy I’ll admit to being tempted to cut into my down time activities – stop reading, stop writing – and devote myself to the doing. The doing comes more naturally to me anyway. It’s all movement, lists, and accomplishing. Reading, writing, and reflecting is sitting still, being quiet, and hearing from outside my own head.

But experience has taught me that if I keep running without resting I’m headed for exhaustion and burnout. I get completely overwhelmed and start to break down. And if I’m not careful, my short-term busy season can start to stretch on until it becomes a permanent state. 

So how can we find rest when it seems like 24 hours isn’t enough time to get everything done?

Get Grounded

When I have so much to do that it feels like I’m just running everywhere, I can get to a point where I don’t even feel like my feet are on the ground. I’m so concerned with checking all my items off the list that I start to become disconnected from who I am as a daughter of the King and my true purpose in life – to bring glory to God. I keep little 3×5 cards in my room and in my purse with verses on them. Then, when I’m digging through my purse or running around my room, I see the words on the cards. And even if I don’t pause to read the entire verse, I know the words on the card. There’s something about the Word of God making an appearance in the middle of our crazy that has a way of planting our feet back on the ground. 

A month ago I came across a verse in Jude. It’s short and simple, whispering peace to my soul:

“May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.”

Jude 1:2

Find the Gaps

I find that when my to-do list runs long I tend to use any sort of down time for what I like to call brainless activities like watching TV or getting lost in the Facebook time warp. But it’s those very moments that can breathe new life into us if we let them. Lately I’ve been trying to pause and just whisper a prayer when I see the sun breaking through the clouds or I’m working and my kids come to mind. Just a whisper under my breath, acknowledging that God is indeed present and giving Him my gaze, even if just for a moment.

Step Back

I was at a meeting today for work and a few of us moms were discussing all the things we needed to get done before school starts. We listed off the impossible number of tasks on our lists, lamenting the time and stress of back to school. And I realized in that moment that I needed to step back from my own chaos and listen for a minute to the other moms. Just talking about it and finding common ground gave us a sense of solidarity of purpose – getting our kids back to school. Sometimes when life gets crazy we need to take a moment to step back and see the people around us who are also struggling. We need them and they need us. It’s easier to get through it together.

Breathe

Take a deep breath right now. In. Out. Good. Do it again. In. Out. Part of being human is having needs. We can’t do life alone and we weren’t created to carry the weight of the world alone. When we’re stressed we get tense – we clench our jaws and tighten our fists. So take a deep breath and let it out. Thank God for that breath and for the next one. He is with us. We’re going to get through this.

We won’t let busy season knock us over and take us out. Jesus promises rest for the weary. Take a minute to rest in His Presence now and carry it with us always:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

What do you do to de-stress? How do you get through the busy seasons of life?

How Much is Enough?

I just returned from a church women’s conference that took me away from home for five days. When I pulled into the garage, my kids burst through the door with smiles and welcomed me home. They helped me bring in my stuff and we set it aside to be unpacked another day so I could spend some time with them before bed.

The following day I saw it sitting in the corner of our room and I added “unpack” to my to-do list for the day. After I got ready, ate breakfast, and got my son on the school bus I returned home with my daughter and took inventory of the list I keep on the side of the fridge so I remember everything I need to do. Unpack was sandwiched between “kids laundry” and “clean guinea pig cage”. I got a load in the washer and fed the guinea pig, returning to the kitchen to decide what to do next.

I often listen to music with my daughter during the day so I put on some TobyMac while I loaded the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher. My daughter started to dance. I kept rinsing and placing dishes in the dishwasher. As I watched her dancing I realized she needed me to look up from my to-do list, see her, and be with her. She didn’t need me to do anything for her. She needed me to hold her close, kiss her face, and dance like there was nothing else in the world that needed to be done. Because at that moment, nothing else did.

Sometimes God needs us to look up from our to-do list, stop trying to do things for Him, and just be with Him. Come close, kiss His face, and enjoy the moment in His Divine Presence, as if nothing else matters, as if nothing else needs to be done. Because, in those moments, nothing else does.

I often find myself stuck in the trap of thinking I could do more, that I should do more. I start to tell God, “I know I can do more! Give me more.” But all the running, goal-chasing, and restlessness has left me worn out and burned out. Because there’s a fault in my logic. If it’s all about me, what I can do, what I should do; if I think the weight of the world’s problems fall squarely on my shoulders, I will always fail. And I’ll constantly be asking, “How much is enough?” As long as I’m trying to justify myself, it will never be enough.

It’s not my job to save the world. That’s why Jesus came. It’s my job to be so in tune with the heart of God, walk so closely with Him, that when He whispers I can hear His voice.

He wants me to be faithful where I am right now, to be content in my current season instead of jumping forward to the next thing.

Jesus says:

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 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.”

John 15:4-5

“Abide, abide, abide,” He says. “Stay close. Get to know me. Learn to hear my voice in the quiet times so you’ll know it when the chaos and noise comes.”

He tells me to learn to quiet myself so I can hear Holy Spirit inside me. It’s the simplest and most difficult thing to do. I want to do His will not mine. And the only way to know His will is to know His heart. And the only way to know His heart is to come close and listen at His chest.

Grow down. Dig deeper. There’s always more of Him to find. He is faithful in the insignificant, the monotonous, and in the predictability of the day to day.

Learn to be planted, to be still, to rest in Him. Trust me, if God wants our attention, He’ll get it. When it’s time to move, when the season changes, He’ll be sure to let us know.

Sometimes we need to get things done. And sometimes we need to dance with our Father, sit at His feet, snuggle up to His chest.

So how much is enough?

Nothing. Everything.

There is nothing I can do to justify myself. And to follow Jesus means to give up everything:

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’”

Luke 9:23

In a world that can suck us dry doing, can make us feel like we can never do enough, never be enough, choose to sit, to walk, to live in the presence of our loving Father. It’s the only thing that’s ever enough.