Have we lost the art of rest? Is it really becoming history?
True rest is NOT just not going to work one day, it is not simply sleeping,
it is not lying on the couch watching endless episodes of the Big Bang theory, and it is not magically imbedded into the time between Friday 5:30pm and Monday
7am.
Rest it is a state of mind, body
and soul being in complete surrender. It’s
an amazing feeling – kind of like how you feel on that beach holiday.
But is this feeling or state restricted to those 2 weeks in the Summer? Well, it certainly wasn't meant to be...
With a world so full of stress, business and ‘things to do’
lists when was the last time you truly rested?
I mean TRULY rested.
“But Cath, I don’t have time, I have kids, I have a busy life,
I have lots to do…” Yes, YOU do. But life isn’t just about you.
During lent I’m trying to observe the Sabbath in its truest
form. Now, that doesn’t mean I have to
go to church each Sunday and it doesn’t mean I need to rest because God told me
to, that’s religion, let’s stay well clear of that. I’m observing the Sabbath because I’ve come
to know that I was made to rest! If God needed it, I definitely need it. Are we better than God?
I have come to know that the only way the human body can
cope with what I put it through the other 6 days is by giving my mind body and
soul a break. So today, on this glorious
sunny day I am not thinking about what I ‘should’ be doing, I am not planning
my week ahead or considering the laundry basket or state of my bedroom (all of which, in my eyes need to be addressed IMMEDIATELY). I am not rushing around, even if that means
running after friends, loved ones and family all for a good cause. I am not cooking, shopping or even going for
a walk. I am sitting in the sun resting in the presence of my dad, my Father,
My God. Bliss! I am reminding my soul
that it cannot do this life thing by itself, and it was never meant to. I am resting in the arms of a loving father
who made me and knows what I need. When
I relax and give everything to him – the week ahead, the laundry, the cooking,
the cleaning, the planning, the work, the people that need me, I am free to
relax and enjoy life in it’s fullest. It is only by placing everything in Gods
hands that I can truly let go, rest and be at peace.
I find that when I spend time like this, I birth the best
ideas, I find the best way round a problem I’ve been trying to solve all week by my own human strength,
I acknowledge that I really don't need to be super Cath every
day, if infact any day and indeed even when I try these things, I
fail! Do you?
In short, resting reminds me that I am not in charge, God is.
Phew, thank goodness for that… Don't we all want someone to come along and take off the load? Don't we all want someone to save us? Well, I can tell you that He has, we just often don't take him up on his offer.
Today I challenge you to do one of the following:
1) Do
nothing because you ‘should’ ‘could’ or ‘better’. God is in charge, He wills us to act, so
unless He wills you today, unless Henergises you and gives you happiness in
your heart to act, then don’t!
2) Spend
10 minutes lying down, or sitting somewhere in complete silence. Focus on breathing in for 6 seconds and out
for 6 seconds. Sounds easy! It’s not.
Your mind will want to tell you everything you should be doing. Shut that voice up! And just breath. It is
only in breathing in that we are able to breath out.
3) Write
down everything you feel you should be doing, need to do or haven’t done. Put it in an envelope, write God on the front
and give your things to do list to God. It is in letting go that we receive
None of these things are easy, we are all
busy and our mind automatically says “yeah, right! If only that was possible!”
Well, it is. Religion is easy – Taking every Sunday off work or going to church
every Sunday is easy, but true faith is trusting that God is big enough that if
you do nothing today but be with Him, the world will still turn!
Are you religious or faith filled?
“Be still and Know that I am God” Psalm 46:10
Cath will be leading a session on true surrender today at bechurch who meet every Sunday at Wimbledon YMCA 4-5:30pm . Got time to join us? ;)
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