A Command and An Invitation
Forgotten rest
Rest….. for most of us it is a challenge. Coming out of Easter and recognizing the need for rest by so many women serving in their local churches and ministries, we’ve spent the last couple weeks talking about different parts of rest and restoration. My devotions circle, the girls and I that share a daily devotional time, have been doing a 7 day study on rest, our blog posts have gotten more engagement on the topic of rest than anything else we have shared over the last year… that should tell us something. Rest is hard. It shouldn’t be, it was actually designed to be the opposite of that, but we live in a noisy world, in a demanding world, and the challenges of work, family, entertainment, and yes, even church, don’t often remind us of the value of rest.
“Much like our body needs actual rest to repair, so do we as people. When we push too hard or overlook our needs, we can start to malfunction and burnout. Being self-aware of what we need can be such an overlooked essential to thriving in life. I have seen it too many times that people simply don’t know how to give themselves permission to have needs or ask for help, and they end up hurting themselves and other people because of it.” -7 Types of Sabbath for our Modern Culture, Claire Harris, JH Israel
I have pushed too hard, I have forgotten to rest… often. As we age, our bodies are quicker to highlight the overuse and under-rested, but in my younger days, 4-5 hours of sleep was the norm, having to be among the first in and the last out in every ministry event, checking my phone messages/emails constantly, even going on vacation but making sure everyone knew they could and should call. I spent many years not being fully present in my “away time” because I was determined to stay connected. And it didn’t feel wrong, it felt like serving, it felt like willing sacrifice, at times it even felt like obedience, except it wasn’t.
hard truth
“When we don’t acknowledge our needs, we actually deny Christ His rightful place in our lives. It’s like if you were drowning and you told God that you didn’t need Him, that you can do it yourself. The sad truth is, that all that is, is pride disguised behind self-sufficiency.” -7 Types of Sabbath for our Modern Culture, Claire Harris, JH Israel.
Oof… that is hard to hear. But if I shut down the defensive reaction of “yeah, but…” I recognize the truth. God chose us to do whatever it is He has called us to do. He wants our service. He has uniquely gifted us for His purposes, but He doesn’t need us. He is God. He chooses to use us, but He also tells us to rest. Arrogance and pride provoke us to believe we can’t step away, the ministry can’t function without us. Brokenness and Identity insecurity, motivate us to be needed, to be irreplaceable, to stay on top of. That feels harsh, it’s not meant to be. The demands of ministry feed so many good things in us, serve so many good purposes of God, challenge us to grow in our gifting, and understanding of Jesus, our faith, and our reliance on Him. But, if not kept in balance, those same demands can easily also feed our insecurities, our need for validation, our reliance on people.
He designed our bodies to rest. He designed our spirit to rest too. How are you doing with that? Has it been too long since you took a day, a weekend, or a week to yourself? Has it been too long since you just sat with Jesus without an agenda? Has it been too long since you powered off your electronics, turned off your phone, and made friends with the silence?
A Special invitation
Today, I’d like to invite you to do so. It may be as simple as a day or even just a few hours of unplugging, it may be a weekend off or some set aside time with family or with God. And it may be more.
Finding Zarephath is releasing our first Journey Box offering at the end of this month, this box is filled with stories of other women in ministry, experiences, hard lessons learned and the life and joy that Jesus spoke over our hardest times. It is filled with guided journal exercises, reading and audio sessions, incredible worship sets, and gifts that will speak directly to your heart as you journey with Jesus.
The value of the gifts alone are more that the list price of the box, the value of the stories of real women just like you, shared specifically to minister to your heart are immeasurable, the time set aside to sit with Jesus and allow Him to speak, minister and heal is priceless.
The pre-order pricing of the boxes is heavily discounted, and available here today.
We are a ministry that serves the women who serve their local churches. We know this last year has been hard. If you are in need of your own Journey Box, and simply cannot afford it, please reach out to us. We are want nothing to stand in the way of your ability to sit with and experience the amazing gifts Jesus has for you.
