Finding Rest in Our Busy Lives

Why is it so hard to find rest in today's world?

I'm not talking about getting a good night's sleep.  I'm talking about finding soul-restoring, God-ordained rest from our worries and concerns.  I find that almost everyone I know confesses to not being able to "turn off" the busyness of their life.

Is this the way we are supposed to live?  Is this just a fact of modern life?

I don't think so.  One of the greatest blessings of a faith relationship with Jesus is the ability to rest in His love and care.  This is a counter-cultural truth of our faith.

Unfortunately, such rest is not the mark of most of us believers.  We seem to struggle with all of the anxiety that marks the rest of our world.

Still, doesn't it sound good?  Rest.  Trust.  Faith.  Joy.  Let's take a moment to look at one major hindrance to finding rest for our weary souls.  

Perhaps the best place to start is Exodus 20: 8-11.

"For in six days you shall labor and do all your work, 

but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; ... 

for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 

the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; 

therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."  

As is found in several of the commandments, God gives the command and then gives the rationale for the commandment.  Here, God declares He made everything good and then rested.

What does this mean?  

Our God is the creator and sustainer of everything.  
We can trust that He will complete His holy work.

In other words, we believe in a miracle-working God who is all powerful.  We can trust in this awesome God.  He is empowering our labors.  We can and should follow His example of laboring six days and then resting on the seventh day.

Why is it so hard for pastors and all workaholics to believe this?  

Here is the root of our sin.  We truly believe that God could not do without us.  Thus, we have to labor continuously because without us, the Kingdom would fall, the business will fail, the projects will fail.

It never crosses our mind to pray, ask God for help, and then trust that our six days of labor is enough.  Why?  We are living as practical atheists.  We love the "control" we exert.

What does this mean?

A life of balance and rest is built into the created order.  

We need a rest weekly.  We rest not necessarily because we are "tired" but because we are sinners  who need to be reminded of the all-powerful God we serve.  We need to set aside our control issues and instead take time and space to pray for God's hand to work.

I encourage each of us to give this a try.  This week, take a full day to seek the living God and to repent of your fears, doubts, and control.  Repent of your hard-heartedness which denies that God can and will work without you.  Learn to enjoy Him and rest in His strength.

He will honor such faith with the gift of His presence

and the power of His Holy Spirit to bless your labors.

Balancing Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

If faith is a gift from God, than any belief I have in Him would have to come from Him, correct?

Why is it that the answer to almost all questions of importance are never just yes or no?  So much depends upon why one is asking (motives) and the context of the question (situation).  I was given this question in an e-mail this week.  On the surface, it is a simple question.  Under the surface, their is a whole host that could be going on.

First, the simple answer.  Ephesians 2: 8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast."  Yes, faith is a gift of God.

But, I think there is more to it.  Let me give a possible context.

I am struggling with my faith and I am struggling to believe.  Is this God's fault?  I know I have not been the Church.  I know I have neglected my prayer life and I am no longer reading God's word daily.  In fact, I have been engaging in a variety of sexual sins and I have been reading a variety of religious works promoting teachings and thoughts contrary to what I know is in the bible.  Why is it I do not feel God's presence?

Context of the question is important!  Why is one asking this question?

Here is how I see it.  On the one hand is the ultimate truth.  God is responsible for changing my heart and bringing me to Himself.  He gives faith by his Grace.  It is not about me, but about God working.

Yet, my experience is often so different.  Here is my story.  I began to question the real meaning of life and the role my supposed faith played in determining this meaning.  I was given a bible, so I started reading it.  As I read I was amazed at who Jesus was, what He did, and what He taught.  I never had experienced or heard anything like it (including during all my years in church!).  After wrestling with the teaching of Jesus, I decided to follow Him, no matter what.

Notice all the I usage!  I did this, I did that.  This was and is my experience.  Yet, ultimately, from the truth of scripture, I affirm that God was the one drawing me to Himself.  He was preparing me.  

In other words, if I understand my experience from God's perspective, I can affirm both what I felt and did as real and important and I can and must affirm that God was at work and He brought about my faith.  

How do these two truths hold together logically?  Many a book has been written to attempt to answer this question.  Read them if interested!  I think it is more helpful to affirm the reality of both our experience and God's work.  Somehow God works through our experiences and choices to bring about His sovereign will.  I praise Him for this grace.

So, what does this mean for growing in grace/faith?  Everything.  

From scripture I know it is important to guard my mind and heart.  It is important to think about good and right things (Phil. 4:8-9).  These are commands.  Why?  Well, I can tell you from experience that thinking about or fixing my mind upon ungodly things harms my spiritual life.  If I do it for too long, God gets more and more distant.  Soon, I feel completely lost.

But, if God gives faith, is this not God's fault?

Here is where we want a simple answer to a very complex question.  How does God work in our life and in the world?  Where exactly is the interaction?  If he knows the number of hairs on my head (which is constantly shrinking) does He not know and control everything?

Well, yes and no.  Somehow God works His will through us fallen and frail folks.  Somehow.  I do not know exactly how, but He does.  Why do I believe this?  Because scripture teaches it!  I don't really understand it and at times I do not even like it.  Yet, it is true.

The problem is that my experience is still my experience.  This is why scripture gives us commands and responsibilities.  I have a part to play.  I am responsible to protect my heart and mind.  When I fail to do so, I need to repent and look to Jesus to change me.  If I don't I become hard hearted toward God and my life falls from the path of life.

In the end, God calls us to pursue holiness and life.  He even uses blog posts like this one to call us to the task!  The pursuit occurs through repentance and faith.  It runs through practicing living the truth found in Jesus (Eph 4:21).  Yet, ultimately God is still at work.

Perhaps it is easiest to say that the goal of the Christian life is for our experience to match up with what God has declared.  Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.