I’m not any busier than anyone else. It’s just that I am afraid. I’m afraid of resting. I lack courage to rest. Things are never done. I never feel any closure nor do I ever feel caught up.
Odd that rest takes courage. Courage to walk away with things undone. Courage to risk not being prepared for something. Courage to frustrate or offend people because you are not available. Courage to face the mounds of “to-do’s” the day after. Courage to just be alone with God… and yourself.
You need courage? Me too. I risked and took a day of rest yesterday. I had to fight pre-occupation with all of my undone stuff, projects that screamed for attention, events calling for further prep, possible missed calls, and so forth. I had to fight fear.
Is it just me? Why are we so afraid to rest? I’m a little baffled at myself. I guess if we don’t act like we’re busy, or keep ourselves busy, we worry what people might think of us. Like we have the good life or something if we rest. Or if we don’t keep ourselves busy, we might not like what we find about ourselves, or what God might have to say to us.
Still God commands us to rest. We don’t have to be afraid. It’s just right. It’s healthy–physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. God rested on the 7th day too.
Get creative. Take a day. And just be. And just be with Him. It takes courage. But even more so, it takes trust. It takes trust in the Lord of the Sabbath to take care of things left undone. Takes trust in the Lord to have you prepared for the project ahead. Takes trust in the Lord to take care of the frustrated people you didn’t call back. Takes trust in the Lord to deal with the people who may judge your rest. If God says we can rest then that is enough.
Take courage! Go get some rest.