Resting for God

Okay sorry, after four posts in a row and two posts by other people I wasn't planning on posting again for at least a day, but the Holy Spirit calls. Haha or at least this post should be pretty good.

If you haven't yet read http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/05/2478/.
Read it before you move on. It's really really good. And it takes 5 minutes. Trust me its worth it. (Click it Josh!)

"...In repentance and rest is your salvation..." Isaiah 30:15.

Jon points out an amazing thing in his blog that salvation equals two things: repentance and rest. I've known about Psalm 127:2 for a while but it never hit home quite like this before. If I'm true to myself like Jon, often I say to myself.

Repentance is your salvation.

Repentance and good works is your salvation.

Repentance and penance is your salvation.

Repentance and seeking God more is your salvation.

But that's not what the Bible says. It clearly states that repentance and rest is your salvation. As Jon points out in his post, rest means surrendering and submitting to Him. It means trusting in Him not necessarily by doing more but by allowing Him to be in control. Resting in our culture means doing less and trusting more. It means having faith.

Especially to me, I don't think resting is part of my vocabulary. I know I am supposed to get my rest from God, but I don't think I ever thought about "resting for God." I'm supposed to get refreshed by God, I am supposed to wake up and enjoy God at 8am QTs, I am supposed to say a quick prayer for rest before moving on to the next task, but I never thought I was supposed to actually rest for God.

Being in ICA, former Navigators, a college student, and just me, resting is is never on my to do list. I'm always filling my schedule with different activities, and constantly justifying the amount of sleep I get or how much downtime I splurge. It's always about getting more done, serving more, and trying to keep up with a slew of responsibilities and engagements. I've commented in a previous post about how I love to be busy. I just love doing things. It keeps me engaged and feeds my nature and personality. It's fun to accomplish things and keep going from one thing to the next. And God has been giving me a lot of grace to give me the energy to keep going and to worship and enjoy Him amongst my busyness.

A former me would have totally went 180 and said oh I need to be more responsible and committed and less busy with soo many things and try to do fewer things well. (Isn't that what I tried doing for the past year?... sleeping early, waking up earlier, hanging out with less people...) But I think, being a little (teeny weenie bit) wiser, and just really filled by the grace of God, that there's definitely a place for busyness in our lives and it's definitely a way that helps me worship God! Not that my comfort is in the actions or the completing of tasks themselves, but I am learning that God built me for busyness. Being busy allows me to worship God and to seek Him more as He sustains me through the busyness, not just to get stuff done I want to do, but also to seek His will and obey it. However, there definitely is a way to worship God by being more restful and less busy as well. And that is a skill I definitely need to refine.

If you know me, I've been far from getting a perfect picture of what rest looks like. Doing two overnight shifts a week and hanging out with people, school work, ministry work, family stuff, getting prepared for missions this summer, waking up early and sleeping... never, it looks like I could get some more rest in God. Yet, I have alot of peace in saying this that I actually have been seeking rest in God over the past three weeks. Perhaps being a bit reckless, amongst the slew of activities and averaging less than 3 hours of sleep on weekdays and binge sleeping on weekends, I've never been closer to God in my entire life.

I don't think being busy is for everyone, and I definitely don't think I should be busy 24 hours, 7 days a week, but I think this is just how God has wired me for now. Feeling invincible, and constantly learning about God and seeking Him even amongst my various tasks. Always praying, meditating on some Scripture or a message. Battling temptations, emotions, and lies with truth, and seeking encouragement and God through people and awesome conversations. I couldn't keep up what I am doing without getting fed, and for me that means surrendering my need to be "strong," "self reliant" and "dependent on God only", by putting myself in places to be fed by God (ie making sure I eat all my meals for the day): in the Word, through reading encouraging things on the internet, praying, listening to messages, wrestling with God, and one of the greatest blessings by being around encouraging people and surrendering my pride to ask for prayer and to talk boldly by sharing about my greatest passion, knowing God a little bit more.

Yes, thank you so much for your prayers and for hearing me rant one time too many. I am so thankful for such an awesome group of friends. Without you, I would be one unhappy kid.

In conclusion, don't be afraid to seek physical rest from God. You can definitely rest for God, just check your heart and listen to the Spirit. Be careful of lies and get encouragement from brothers and sisters. I am sure that God will lead me to some physical form of rest sometime soon like this weekend or during Iron Man II. But this post was an awesome reminder and a mental check on where I am getting my rest. As stress and anxiety and lies and restlessness pop up in my life, what is sustaining me? Is busyness merely a diversion for my sorrows, or a unique way that God chooses to sustain me? As I keep up with my busyness I have been reminded that there is a place for rest, especially physical, and to just follow the Holy Spirit as it guides me.

"In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat -
for he grants sleep to those he loves."
- Ps 127:2



Thanks to Joel for pointing my attention to the Stuff Christians Like blog, it's already changing my life. If you have extra time read http://stuffchristianslike.net/2010/04/2691/. This one is really good too.