Are You Addicted to Speed?

Have you noticed how persistent God can be? If He doesn't get through with one avenue, He will try another. I have been hit over the head with a spiritual 2 x 4 before and I really feel that it's happening again. But not just to me. It think it's a world-wide ordeal.

I believe God is trying to get our attention and what He has to say is not new or earth shattering but necessary to hear. I will sum it up in one word.

REST.

It is talked about everywhere. Especially the last two weeks. In Sunday School, we've been talking about honoring the Sabbath and finding time to rest and enjoy your family. Then I see it on a few Facebook statuses - people that aren't in my SS class. Joyce Meyer begins tweeting about resting. Richard Exley emails me a daily devotion and every day for a week, it's been about keeping the Sabbath holy and relaxing. Ann Voskamp has blogged about it three days this week. I'm listening to Cast of Characters audio CD's by Max Lucado and right there in Chapter 2, he slips in how our body needs rest and how crucial family time is.

I don't think we're referring to just some quite time or going to bed early one day a week. I think it's more than that.

I believe we need a life-style change . . . a make-over within our own home.

We finally got the message in our household. I knew I bit off more than I could chew this school year, but didn't' really know how to back out of anything. We only allow our kids to play one sport, but Adam's team called for two practices a week - during the time that I was supposed to be with Victoria at her cheer practice. Then I enrolled in two different co-ops. I know....crazy. But they are both SO beneficial for my kids that I couldn't bear pulling them from either one. And I volunteered to be the treasurer for the Edmond Home School support group. Let's not forget about church three times a week...and, and, the list goes on....

We do rest on Sundays. I do have my morning devotions with the Lord. I strive to take a 20 minute nap almost every weekday and I am in bed before 10:30 pm. But I was still leg-high with barely anytime for recovery or evening family time.

Then my kids had implant surgery and my life completely changed. Adam can't play soccer now - no contact sports. All field trips - cancelled. No school for 4 days while they recuperated. Not exactly how I would suggest you free up some time in your life, but it happens to be our family story. And for that, I am very thankful. It was just enough so that we can now breathe. And God knew that. Our evenings are relaxed now. The board games have come back out and we only leave two nights a week - church and cheer. Whew!

An epidemic. That's what I think is happening. We live in a fast-paced technology-driven, wait-for-no-one society. And it's killing us. We desperately need to catch God's vision for resting - giving our body the break it needs. If we do not take breaks, we will break.

Ann Voskamp is so eloquent with her words. Here is an excerpt from her blog from a few days ago:

"Is there such a thing as a sustainable economy of the soul in this industrial world addicted to speed?...If we refuse Sabbaths of idleness, we construct our own idols. If we refuse rest and think of our work more important to Him than our rest in Him, we make our calling into the golden calf. In the digital era we have lost all sense of seasons. All sense of day and night and on and off and fertility and furlough and idol and God. We wind the world, our bodies, tight and let go and expect to be in motion forever, spun, us watchmakers of our own."

We have to believe that sleep is a daily reminder from God that we are NOT God. In His wisdom, He has ordained these seasons of rest for us to remember who we are . . . the dependent ones.

Another blog stated: "Funny how resting is a discipline for most people, when it should be a welcome relief! If we do not rest, we make ourselves cheap martyrs, victimized by no one but ourselves to our busyness and whirlwind lives."

Resting to you can mean just a break during the day to reflect on anything or nothing. But we also need an entire day set aside to let our bodies rejuvenate.

I was going over all this with my kids last night and looking up scripture verses. Psalms 127:2 says, "...He blessed His beloved with sleep." Did you ever stop to think about God resting on the 7th day? Why did He rest? I mean, seriously, it wasn't because He was tired! It was because He was satisfied. "He saw that it was good and He rested." He did so as an example to us - to show us how life needs to be handled. We are humans, not robots.

A friend once said that she finds herself praying to God more and more to please, give her rest. But I wonder if it's really up to us. Honestly, He gives us ample opportunity for rest, but it's up to us to recognize it and use it wisely.

Ironically, my devotional book "Jesus Calling" posted this scripture verse for the month of October: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Richard Exley's daily devotion yesterday said, "Without the Sabbath, without rest and renewal, we would never have the inner resources to embrace a hurting world. In our weariness we would be tempted to resent the needy with their ever-present claims on us, but renewed by a Sabbath of rest we can embrace them with the love of Christ. Rather than isolating us, the Sabbath restores our spiritual and emotional vitality so we can return to our mission with renewed vision.

Oh, Lord Jesus, restore our souls so we can minister to others. Instead of feeling guilt during the refreshing season, help us learn to embrace the refreshing, resting times.

I honesty just don't see how all these people can be wrong - all at the same time. I think we need to stand alert and pay attention!

So, what will it take for you? Are you ready for some balance in your life? Are you willing to stop the Merry-Go-Round and do what God commands us? If you continue living like this, will you have any regrets two or three years down the road? Are you often sick because your body isn't getting the rest it needs? Will your kids remember that you were always "busy" and never had time to share a movie or play a game with them?

I leave you with these thought-provoking questions. Ultimately, the choice is yours.

Time to end this lengthy blog...after all, my Sunday afternoon nap awaits me :)