Resting Joy

Originally published Tuesday, 13 September 2016.

hammock

I often wonder about a lot of things and I find myself coming to the same conclusion each time. Now I'm not talking about the cure for cancer, or the national deficit, or the latest bargain price for broccoli.  This isn't a post to tell you my vote for President.

The two words "I'm busy" make me wonder and create a contradiction in my soul. I also wonder how many busy signals God hears. I'm busy blogging, writing, editing a book or two, writing another book or two, recording some radio stuff, cleaning, eating sleeping, and exercising. I get it. Me too.

I run to God constantly but sometimes I am distracted with problem solving on my own. Then when this happens...it's as if there's a tap on my little shoulder.

"Please rest in Me."

Here I am in a season of busy activity and it seems super unproductive to take a siesta or halt to a stop with all this activity around me. I'm used to doing for myself, producing, and meeting deadlines. I'm used to feeding and dressing myself, but one idea I'm not good at is resting. So why would I need to rest now?

I found myself saying, "I'm too busy to rest."  And the conflict comes down in my soul.

Then....I came to my senses through the help of the Holy Spirit. Needless to say, I repented of my wrong thinking, refocused my mind and put my thoughts back on Him. And now I can see more clearly, I've learned that rest is more than a season. Rest is an attitude I am adopting into my life permanently.

I don't know if you have thought about rest in this way, perhaps you have been too busy. I believe God planned rest from the beginning of time and created a whole day intentionally for rest. I know you've read this over and over in Genesis, but I realized it was the very component I needed. To help you be more productive, more focused, and more intentional with your time, you might need rest to be more than just a season.

So I ask you, what would it take for you to stop the whirling world you live in and give yourself a long soaking rest in God? I get it...I thought I was too busy also take a long time to rest. Then once I experienced true rest, it's now a part of my life I can't live without. Try it, even if you think you are too busy.

God is trying to reach you in your busyness. And this just in...He wants to be MORE than a crisis manager to you. He specializes in perfecting the very details which seemed to go unchecked when you are busy. I let him manage my task list, my clock, and my seasons from now on. It's important to Him, and I can rest on Him knowing He knows more about my needs than I know myself.

"Who you spend time with is what you value the most."  - John Gray

I get it. I know. I see. Rest isn't just a suggestion from our Creator. Rest is a place to center your will back where it belongs, in His rest. He gets it, He sees you, and He knows you need it.

Take my word for it, it's worth it.  I dare you to try God in this too.  It's better FOR you than you know.  

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