When you need to rest......
I don't like this feeling. You know the one.
The feeling that I just cannot get it all done. My to-do list is growing. And growing. And growing.
What happened to the simple days? I thought that as my children got older, my days would be simpler. Quieter.
Ha.
No, really....HAHAAAAHAAAAAA. (wicked witch laugh)
Yep. That's how it feels. Like, it is all a big joke.
Like, really? God chose me to be a mom and to do ALL the things?
Or so it feels this way.
Some days.
Most days.
I began teaching yoga faith at a local church in my town. The theme for us this month is rest.
I chose this theme because I thought it was a theme that most could relate to.
LITTLE did I know how desperately I would be the one that needed it MOST.
REST.
What the heck...sounds so simple. Doesn't it?
I mean, I get 8 hours of sleep most nights. I am resting, right?
No.
Sleep is not always the same as rest.
God commands us to rest. It is the 4th commandment. FOURTH!
Even God rested after creating the WHOLE wide world.
So, why is it so foreign to us?
Why do we feel as if we stop thinking, stop moving, stop working, stop planning, stop worrying, stop fretting....
That the whole entire world will collapse.
At least that is how I feel at times.
There is always something to do.
Always.
But, here is the thing...
What does God want us to do?
Surely, He has a plan for us. Not just a lifetime plan, friend, but a day to day plan.
I have always been a little obsessed with my planners. You know, the pretty, lined, organized planner thing? Yea. I kinda love those.
What if....
Every day, we asked God how to fill those pretty pages up.
I found some scripture in Exodus that should encourage us in this.
Moses was sick and tired of leading the Israelites. They were awful. And impatient. And sinful. And complaining...and.....I could go on for days.
Moses was over it. With a capital O.
Moses basically asked God (in modern day lingo), "What are you going to do about this? Who are you going to send to help me, God??"
This is God's response. Grab your chair and hold on.
"The Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'" Exodus 33:14
Oh hey now.
Read that one more time.
Do you feel like somebody just breathed fresh air right through those lungs of yours? Me too.
Now, listen to what Moses says afterwards.
"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from this place." Exodus 33:15
Do you see why Moses was such a big deal back in the OT days?
Y'all! He basically said this, "I ain't going nowhere without You, God. Not even budging."
What if we said this every morning?
God, what do you want me to do? Because, listen, I am not moving without word from You. I need to know Your Presence will go with me.
I know what you are thinking.
How long do we have to sit and wait for Him to respond?
As long as it takes.
Yes.
You heard me.
We are so used to jumping up at every blinking cell phone light and every single phone beep.
What if we stopped.
Rested a while.
Until He tells us to go.
And where to go.
What if we were so desperate for His Presence to be with us that we did not budge until we heard from Him?
'
Moses knew the consequences of moving without God. He knew the torment of a life trying to be the one in charge. And it did not work.
He knew he needed God.
Every. Step. Of. The. Way.
And, friend, so do we.
Maybe God is not speaking because we are not resting in His Presence long enough to hear Him.
Talk to Him.
Listen to Him.
Rest in Him.
As I type, I am sitting at the library. I had to come here. I just had to.
It is quiet here. Peaceful.
My home is quiet, but it is constantly calling me to clean, or wash, or fold, or iron...who am I kidding, I do not iron, people.
So, in order to write, or think, or pray....I have to go to a quiet place. Like, the library.
Jesus often went to solitary and quiet places.
Maybe we should as well.
Turn off the phone. The news. The dryer. The washer.
And rest a while.
Just you and Him.
God led Moses to the Promise Land.
He wants to do the same for you.
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:31
you can find me at the library,
jill
The feeling that I just cannot get it all done. My to-do list is growing. And growing. And growing.
What happened to the simple days? I thought that as my children got older, my days would be simpler. Quieter.
Ha.
No, really....HAHAAAAHAAAAAA. (wicked witch laugh)
Yep. That's how it feels. Like, it is all a big joke.
Like, really? God chose me to be a mom and to do ALL the things?
Or so it feels this way.
Some days.
Most days.
I began teaching yoga faith at a local church in my town. The theme for us this month is rest.
I chose this theme because I thought it was a theme that most could relate to.
LITTLE did I know how desperately I would be the one that needed it MOST.
REST.
What the heck...sounds so simple. Doesn't it?
I mean, I get 8 hours of sleep most nights. I am resting, right?
No.
Sleep is not always the same as rest.
God commands us to rest. It is the 4th commandment. FOURTH!
Even God rested after creating the WHOLE wide world.
So, why is it so foreign to us?
Why do we feel as if we stop thinking, stop moving, stop working, stop planning, stop worrying, stop fretting....
That the whole entire world will collapse.
At least that is how I feel at times.
There is always something to do.
Always.
But, here is the thing...
What does God want us to do?
Surely, He has a plan for us. Not just a lifetime plan, friend, but a day to day plan.
I have always been a little obsessed with my planners. You know, the pretty, lined, organized planner thing? Yea. I kinda love those.
What if....
Every day, we asked God how to fill those pretty pages up.
I found some scripture in Exodus that should encourage us in this.
Moses was sick and tired of leading the Israelites. They were awful. And impatient. And sinful. And complaining...and.....I could go on for days.
Moses was over it. With a capital O.
Moses basically asked God (in modern day lingo), "What are you going to do about this? Who are you going to send to help me, God??"
This is God's response. Grab your chair and hold on.
"The Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'" Exodus 33:14
Oh hey now.
Read that one more time.
Do you feel like somebody just breathed fresh air right through those lungs of yours? Me too.
Now, listen to what Moses says afterwards.
"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from this place." Exodus 33:15
Do you see why Moses was such a big deal back in the OT days?
Y'all! He basically said this, "I ain't going nowhere without You, God. Not even budging."
What if we said this every morning?
God, what do you want me to do? Because, listen, I am not moving without word from You. I need to know Your Presence will go with me.
I know what you are thinking.
How long do we have to sit and wait for Him to respond?
As long as it takes.
Yes.
You heard me.
We are so used to jumping up at every blinking cell phone light and every single phone beep.
What if we stopped.
Rested a while.
Until He tells us to go.
And where to go.
What if we were so desperate for His Presence to be with us that we did not budge until we heard from Him?
'
Moses knew the consequences of moving without God. He knew the torment of a life trying to be the one in charge. And it did not work.
He knew he needed God.
Every. Step. Of. The. Way.
And, friend, so do we.
Maybe God is not speaking because we are not resting in His Presence long enough to hear Him.
Talk to Him.
Listen to Him.
Rest in Him.
As I type, I am sitting at the library. I had to come here. I just had to.
It is quiet here. Peaceful.
My home is quiet, but it is constantly calling me to clean, or wash, or fold, or iron...who am I kidding, I do not iron, people.
So, in order to write, or think, or pray....I have to go to a quiet place. Like, the library.
Jesus often went to solitary and quiet places.
Maybe we should as well.
Turn off the phone. The news. The dryer. The washer.
And rest a while.
Just you and Him.
God led Moses to the Promise Land.
He wants to do the same for you.
"Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." Mark 6:31
you can find me at the library,
jill
