For the past two weeks I have stopped working out. Of course, the rest period started off
innocently enough. My voice began to get
scratchy, my body was weary and tired, so I said to myself, "P90-X (home
work out videos) is simply too much at the moment and will weaken my immune
system because of the intensity. I
should stop for this week to simply rest and allow my body to
recover." It was a well-meaning rest,
and most certainly needed.
Yet, this rest turned into a two week rest. The second week of rest was haunted by the
phrase, "I'm simply too tired this week, I'll start again next week,"
"I don't feel like it today,"
and "Skipping just this once won't hurt." I am now in week three of my "rest,"
struggling to get in three workouts when six workouts was the norm, battling
the desperate desire to remain at rest.
Walking with God and living for Christ is the field of that
same battle, that same desperate desire to remain at rest, to take the easy
road. "I don't feel like it today,
so I will skip prayer." "I don't feel like guarding my eyes today, so
it's OK if I take a second look at that beautiful individual." "I don't
feel like it today, so I will skip my devotional, or my fast." "I
don't feel like it today, so it's fine if I ignore my family so I can get some
rest."
Taking breaks and resting the soul is a needed practice in
our culture, but stopping important habits because we " don't feel like it"
can lead us into complacency, sin, and laziness. It can deter us from walking with God, place
a spiritual roadblock in our lives preventing us from moving forward, and it
can even place plugs in our ears to prevent us from hearing the Word of
God.
Instead of taking that break when we "don't feel like
it," let us continue to run the race set before us...and instead pray for rest, for a true Sabbath, rejuvenation, and revitalization from God. Jesus' "burden is easy, and his yoke is
light." The Lord will grant us real rest and rejuvenation when the time is
right, which will motivate and prepare us further for our walk with God. Taking rest on our own, seizing the right to
declare when we will take a break from our Master, giving in to the "I
don't feel like it today," will only feed our need for more rest, feed our
presumptiveness, and will leave us un-rejuvenated and un-filled.
"Lord, help me to fight to obey when I don't feel like
it, and come quickly to my rescue with real rest when I am under siege from
everyday life."
Matt,
ReplyDeletewow. this one really spoke to me. I've been feeling incredibly burned out these days - from everything and everyone. As I asked for just a week of rest from praying with my mom so I could study for my tests, those days turned into a couple more days and then some. Without true rejuvination of our SPIRIT from God, I feel we do fall into the trap of needing to feel what WE believe is "rest." Although both are needed, like you said, all to often what started off as a good thing, gets morphed into something else. Thanks for this word of encouragement and challenge. I really needed it.