rest

Sometimes I forget to breathe. Life comes at me so fast that I find myself leaping from one project to the next, one crisis to another, and in the midst of it all I am holding my breath and simply holding on. The daily grind of life can become so consuming that we scarcely recognize the toll it is taking on us both physically and spiritually.

We were not created for this. Jesus told us that in Him we would find comfort and rest. He didn’t promise an easy going life of safety and ease, but He did say we would find rest in Him. When was the last time you shut everything down and just rested in the presence of God? I’m one of those people who will simply never get bored. I have project lists that would stretch miles and I love to continually discover and learn new things. Being a musician I also have an equal obsession with audio, and there are very few times when the stereo or computer is not doling out an endless parade of songs in my house. Through it all I have lost the ability to thrive in silence. I’ll be honest with you, total quiet makes me a little nervous; I feel like I should be doing something. My internal engine aches to be moving on to the next action of my current project instead of sitting and basking in the lack of distraction. It is ironic that one of the most disrupting events for me is that of utter silence; I truly struggle to concentrate in that atmosphere. I have become a product of my environment rather than the balanced and vibrant person I was created to be.

I need rest; we all do. Occasionally, life will throw us a curve that will force us to take a break and reexamine our lives, to slow down and catch our breath. Whether this is due to an injury, illness, job loss or other traumatic event in your life, it’s important to recognize those times as a gift and not a curse. Sometimes in our haste we ignore the signs telling us to take a breath and God chooses to intervene and force the issue. Again, don’t rebel in these moments; understand that we all need a break to refocus our attention and retune our hearts toward Jesus and His mission.

We must all learn to become comfortable in silence. Take the time to simply stop and pray; allow yourself a moment to do nothing but listen to what God is telling you. Remember, God tends to speak to us not in some dramatic or boisterous fashion, but rather in a whisper into the stillness of our lives (1 Kings 19:11-13). When we don’t take the time to pause in our life, we miss countless opportunities that God is placing before us. Remember, we were all created to do good works for Christ (Ephesians 2:10), and if we don’t intentionally investigate what those works are, we will squander the opportunity to glorify God and reflect His love to others.

In the rush of your life, take some time to get away by yourself and reflect on all you are doing; make certain that God is the central focus of every task. In a results oriented society, it is far too easy to focus on ourselves rather than our Creator. Ask Him what it is He would have you do, and then look for opportunities to serve. Don’t miss the chance to glorify God. Remember, this was the whole of Christ’s mission, to bring glory to the Father. As followers of Jesus, this is our foremost goal. A life spent glorifying God unequivocally results in a life well lived. Don’t waste another moment being too busy to rest. Let go of everything that is filling up your life. Find a place of quiet, pray for His peace and just breathe.