Finding Rest
What a GREAT week we just had with VBS! I felt the ROAR that was happening, not just through the singing of the kids (and everyone in worship Sunday!) but also through the energy that pulsed through this campus all week. It was awesome… and exhausting!
As amazing as it was, at least for me personally, I was tired by Tuesday, and it doesn’t usually hit me by Thursday or Friday. Maybe it was just me. But I’ve got a whole new respect for our older adult volunteers who come each day – sometimes arriving before I do – and serve with energy, imagination and love! Sometimes, our Summers at church are busier and more hectic than just about any other time of the year, am-i-right? Then you throw a vacation in the mix…
What I wanted to offer you today is another invitation to rest.
I’m not always very good at that. I tend to push and push myself until I finally just collapse. While it worked really well for me when I was younger, especially in sports, when I would often catch a second wind when others might be lagging late in races or games… but it doesn’t translate well into real life, and certainly not for the long haul. The acceptance, and even embrace of limits is something that I’ve been having to learn and relearn a lot lately.
When Jesus offers his yoke in Matthew 11:29, he’s offering a particular way of living – one that honestly, I often imagine is harder or more limiting than it really is. Jesus himself, goes on to explain that he’s gentle and humble in heart – which is not exactly how I’ve imagined The God of the Universe to be, nor always experienced those in authority over me, or in the world. My tendency then is to try and shake off that yoke, that burden, thinking that I’m more free without it.
But by ignoring my limits, by not accepting the real limits that exist, I put myself in places and positions of burnout and exhaustion that inhibits me way more than if I’d embraced those limits, and lived within Jesus’ invitation from the beginning.
Part of those limits for me, means getting good sleep. It means carving out time to simply sit with God, daily, to offer myself in prayer, to listen for God’s whisper, to pay attention throughout the day. It also means to take regular, (weekly?) sabbath rest and to carve out (monthly) quiet days where I set aside work and the noise of the world to be more present to God and to allow the time and space for God to do a deeper work that just doesn’t happen in short intervals.
This, of course, is very different than a vacation or vegging on the couch to watch a movie or game. Sure, these can be helpful, but they’re not (at least for me) the way I find rest, the way that my soul needs it, or that Jesus offered it throughout his life and ministry – and still does today!
I’m more aware of my need for this real rest after coming through a busy season, but it’s there constantly. I hope you recognize your need (the first step) and then continue on into receiving that rest (the second step) from Jesus by… actually resting. If you need some guidelines in practicing some of this – check out the brochure we put together on Sabbath as well as Silence & Solitude, during Lent.
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus – as we find rest together!
Pastor Don