Founders Note: Today on the blog we have one of our monthly contributors Vannessa. She is sharing her heart on this months theme: Rest. You can find out more about her on our about page here. So, sit back and be encouraged by her words on rest.
When I think about rest, it’s usually followed by, “WHO HAS THE TIME?!” As a working mama of three, I have so much going on, and on top of it all, I have a lot of personal interests and passions. However, there comes a time when it all starts to creep up on me.
Tired and weary sets in and my ability to juggle become very limited because I am painfully human and NO ONE can keep up a hectic pace for long. Jesus knew this. He knew that in this world, busy and scheduled were going to be the biggest obstacles in our walk with Him.
BEING BUSY…
Keeps us from being present
When my life is busy, and filled to the brim, it keeps me from being present. My schedule will often dictate my priorities. Not being one who enjoys being late, my drive to keep a perfect schedule bars the way to being present with Jesus, with my kids, with my husband, and with family and friends. Busyness keeps me from enjoying the precious little time I have with people I love, and from sitting at Jesus’ feet.
Enables us avoid what we fear
There are times in my life when I was purposely busy. Avoiding something that I was scared to face, or nervous about the outcome. It could have been a hard conversation with a friend, or an issue my husband and I were dealing with but busy has been an escape for me in the past. Is it for you now?
Keeps us from excellence
I have a joke with anyone who asks me how I do so many things. I always say, “I do a lot of things, just not necessarily well.” And friends that is a sad truth. When we have so many balls in the air, how on earth can we focus on anything?
The Busy Antidote: Rest…
Jesus has one answer for healing you from the busy bug: REST! But, it comes with a prerequisite. You can’t just decide to rest. That would be something you are continuing to try and do on your own, it’s still striving. Have you ever said, OK I’m going to sit here and meditate and not think of anything else, just to come away feeling more frustrated than ever?
Matthew 11:28 gives us a specific direction:
Come to Me; and I will give you rest
First we must go to God. We must confess our busyness; confess why we are busy, how it’s taken us away from Him, or our family, or commitments. Then we have to trust Him to give us rest. It is not about what we do, it’s what He does in us!
When I’m feeling busy and overwhelmed, I must stop and sit at my Savior’s feet. I must talk to Him, and ask Him what is important, and what is not. Then I must follow what He says. If Jesus tells me that my daughter has to wait another year to play sports, or if I need to cut back on services, then I have to pay attention. When I obey Him, I find rest. Obedience to Him has many rewards, but one of them is clear direction on priorities. Dear sweet friends, don’t let busy keep you from Jesus. Let Jesus give you rest.
Beautiful :) Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe first one listed was very touching for me. That is one I always struggle with. I feel as though days will go by before I realize that I have lost touch with my life--my desires. The only way I move past that is to ask God to ignite my desires once again--to get back to being me!
ReplyDeleteVanessa did a great job on this, i agree.
ReplyDeleteAnd your right, God always knows the desires of our heart and always meets us right where we are at no matter what! :)