15-5

Furious Rest

The Sabbath. It is something that I struggle with because I can't seem to slow down. Even when I'm still, I'm not still...can you relate? There are always 100 things to do and I need to multi-task to get them done on time so that I can do the other 100 things that need to be done. Sound familiar? Even working at the church I can get so caught up in getting 'stuff' done that I miss the most important thing, God. When that happens, I put myself above God, I have allowed the current of self to sweep me away. "The current of self is deceptively strong. So strong, in fact, that Sunday is slowly being blurred into Monday, and nobody in the church or the world seems to care. Well, nobody except the folks with the humorous cow commercials. It's interesting that these guys don't seem to be losing any money. On the contrary, the company is expanding rapidly. I think the folks at Chick-fil-A are doing exactly what God had in mind way back in the Garden. They've created a great product, forged a memorable ad campaign, and worked really, really hard-creating great demand for their product and a loyal following. They have faithfully served the American consumer Monday thru Saturday for almost sixty years. And on Sundays they've closed the doors and gone to worship, and in the process honored God not with busyness, but with stillness. Their unattended drive-through lines proclaim that they really do believe in the the God who formed the universe without their help, or anyone else's."

Sabbath rest is furious rest. It's the kind of rest that powers our journey as we follow Christ with every ounce of our energy. It's "giving all we have for the sake of God's fame, yet carrying Sabbath rest as we go, knowing that His life within us enables us to accomplish what He has called us to do."

We have to learn to be still. In doing so we may be required to sacrifice some of our 'moments in the sun,' and some of our 'stuff' might not even get done. John the Baptist said it this way, "He must become greater, I must become less." You see there really is just one star in the story. And if that's true, "our challenge is not so much to shun the spotlight as it is to redirect any bright light that comes our way onto Him. Success would mean people loving Him more than any of us, clamoring for His touch more than ours."

"That's why worship and Sabbath go together. By ceasing from our efforts when God asks us to, we make much of Him. When we trust Him by resting in Him, we exalt the Lord, championing Him as all-powerful in our purposeful inactivity. Furious rest, you see, is not about doing nothing. It's about doing everything we do with the quiet confidence that our lives, families, businesses, ministries, relationships, and dreams are in His hands."

Enjoy the Journey