“Keep the Sabbath; it is holy to you.” (Exodus 31:14 MSG)
I had a Holy Spirit tug yesterday to call a certain friend. I texted instead. She and I have an unspoken arrangement: we usually text before we call to make sure the other has time to catch up. We’ve been making room in our lives for each other for twenty-some years now. We’ve chatted whilst changing diapers, folding laundry, doing dishes and fixing dinner. It’s amazing what a twenty-year friendship will afford you if both friends seek to make the investment for the long haul. My friend and I have shared pregnancy and loss, sleep-deprived nights, potty-training, toddler antics, husband heart-aches, discipline tactics, aging parent concerns, teenage drama, politics, Pinterest projects, meal plans, hobbies and mostly our hearts over the long telephone line between her house and mine.
She didn’t respond to my text. My blue bubble hung at the end of our historic thread like a question mark. Twenty minutes passed and the Holy Spirit tugged again. Another text bubble bounced her direction and this time she responded; exhausted but available for a few minutes of connection. The phone rings and I’m happy to hear the familiar voice of my far-away friend. She sounds tired. Frazzled. “I got a ticket last week for rolling through a stop sign.”
I immediately offered sympathy, knowing how bad I’d feel if I got a ticket. She brushed it off and said something profound: “It’s ok, I think God was trying to tell me something. I never really come to a complete stop anymore.”
Suddenly I realized she wasn’t talking about driving any longer, but life. And I wondered how many stop signs I had rolled through on my way to this stretched out season of God-directed rest. I marveled at the wisdom of my friend in a moment that would have made me frantic. Yet here she was, composed and self-aware. God had used a polite but firm police officer to let her know that it was time to make some complete stops.
We spent forty minutes on the phone last night. And somehow, I had a little manna to share with my treasured friend. We talked about setting some healthy boundaries, taking personal responsibility for border control and establishing/maintaining rhythms of rest. I spoke of my own journey to a full stop, how I had to make margin for the Holy Spirit to speak to me in these areas before I could put my foot on the throttle again.
It was in those moments, on the porch swing with the phone against my ear, that I realized anew what a gift rest is. Of course, that is the singular sentence that God gave me when we resigned all the way back in February – “Rest is a gift.” – but I feel as though I didn’t fully unpack it until just now.
Rest is like any gift, really. We can receive it and enjoy it or we can just leave it in it’s wrapping on the counter for a while. When we unpackage rest, when we finally learn to incorporate it into the daily rhythm of our God-designed life, that’s when we truly discover the depths of the gift.
God didn’t ask us to rest as punishment. This isn’t preschool and we aren’t in time-out. Rest is a good gift from a good God; an opportunity routinely pause and reflect on how He is provided thus far and in the same space, trust Him anew. Less like a time-out and more like a well-deserved mid-afternoon nap. Refreshing and re-orientating.
Rest isn’t just some dusty instruction from the first few pages of scripture. Though the Sabbath day isn’t a reinforced New Testament commandment, the principle is still very much in play. We see Jesus Himself take time to rest and we recognize the limitations of these human bodies. They are frail. We require regular recharge: sleeping, eating, sitting quietly to reboot our systems. Jesus also offers us rest, He’s fully aware of how essential it is to our spiritual health.
So no more rolling stops for me. I’ve had significant time to examine my life and ask God about boundaries and rhythms. He and I will continue the conversation as we pack up the U-haul and move across the country and start new jobs and establish new routines. I don’t want to burn out or up before I’ve completed the Kingdom tasks I’m called to. I want serve my God and King all the way to the finish line and such a race requires full days of rest as I trust in Him.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
(Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)
Lord, forgive us for rolling through stop signs when You have called us to rest. May we respond to Your sabbath command with obedience. Help us build and maintain sustainable rhythms of rest. We see now, how rest is a gift and we get to receive it.
Let us unwrap it and enjoy it completely. Amen.