Have you ever been overtired? I know. It’s a silly question. Of course you have. We all have. What happens when a toddler is overtired? They become cranky and irritable. They cry. Nothing will make them happy. They only solution is rest. As adults we mask it better, not throwing a tantrum (hopefully!) in the middle of the grocery store. But not getting our rest has the same results. We function at a lower level than our best. We more easily make lesser decisions because we don’t have the energy to go all in. We become more focused on ourselves and our needs and less focused on others.
The definition of rest is this: to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself or recover strength. Sometimes God is telling us to rest, to reset, to take the time needed to refresh ourselves and recover our strength. And He’s not just asking you to take a nap. He’s asking us to rest in Him.
I know what some of you are thinking: “Yeah, right. I have kids, schedules, a spouse, a demanding job… and you want me to rest?” Yes. This type of scenario is exactly when we need to carve out time to rest in God. If we don’t, when God presents us with the opportunity to help someone in need – who needs prayer, compassion, guidance, healing, etc – we wind up with what I call a “high altitude problem”. We are too busy, too tired, too distracted, too focused on ourselves and our own lives to really be the help they need. We may try to help, but we can’t invest in them fully because we have allowed our own tank to run dry.
When someone comes to us in need, we need to recognize what’s standing in front of us. They are reaching out because they’ve tried all they know to do and have come up empty-handed. They are teetering on the edge. Our job is to pull them back onto solid ground, and we do that by sharing all the resources – joy, hope, love, peace, wisdom, strength, encouragement, etc – that God has filled us with. If we haven’t taken the time to rest in God and don’t have those resources readily available, we risk them falling off the edge because we couldn’t adequately help them. Or worse yet, what we do or say actually pushes them over the edge! “Thoughtless words can wound as deeply as any sword, but wisely spoken words can heal” (Proverbs 12:18).
Jesus told us, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles” (Matthew 5:41). We are to go above and beyond what is expected of us. When we are filled with God’s love we can fulfill what He asks us to do because we can see people the way He sees them. But when we haven’t rested in Him, we are dry and can’t give what we don’t have.
So what exactly is resting in Him? Maybe this will help:
We all need time alone with God. It’s more than checking off our list that we read our Bible and prayed. It’s actually putting everything else aside to BE with Him. We need to lose the distractions, focus in on Him, and sit with Him – like Mary did – at His feet, enjoying “quality time” with Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). As we do this, we learn to hear His voice more clearly and we learn to trust Him more and more.
To get to your place of resting in God, find your happy place – a place with no distractions. This could be a car ride, sitting by a lake or ocean, taking a walk, even the mindless tasks of mowing the grass or washing the dishes – anywhere that allows your heart and mind to relax from the pressures of life and tune in to God. It is in that resting place that we will find peace, comfort, wisdom, love, strength, direction, and more. And when we are filled up with all of that from God, we then have it to give to others around us.
Jesus is the answer to everything. We can’t share Him with others if we aren’t filled to overflowing with Him. And we are filled to overflowing by resting in Him.
Word of the day: Rest.
