Have you ever noticed how we, as Americans, reject one of the best gifts the Lord gives us?
One of the things I realized Month One of the World Race was how hard it was for me to rest. My identity was caught up in my go, go, go – and being a hard worker as a morning reporter and anchor. To get the best story, you must be the first on the scene. You have to hustle to get the best interviews, rush to get your story written and edited – eat your meals in a live truck while working (if you eat at all). Every second counts.
But something beautiful happened in Pretoria, South Africa. We weren’t assigned ministry most days. We were stuck inside an (absolutely beautiful) compound. We (gasp) had no WiFi.
And I was driven absolutely crazy.
I tried to fill every second with activity. I unpacked and repacked my backpack (for the obsessive 100th time). I read three books about spiritual growth. We washed our hosts’ car. I tried to teach myself guitar – unsuccessfully. In a quest to learn photography, I took a photo of every flower and bird in our backyard with my new camera.
Then something beautiful happened. Our hosts Erica and Louis were in tune with the Holy Spirit and it began to rub off on me. Louis read a few passages from Genesis to us and it lit a fire within me to start reading the Old Testament. I found myself spending more time in scripture and prayer than ever before in my life. I stopped going to the mall with my team to fill our off days and instead I spent time in my hammock praying. And gently, the Lord started recalibrating my heart. Teaching me that I’m not what I do, that my worth isn’t found in my job.
I found a Sabbath way of life on the race, but somehow I’ve lost it now that I’m back home.
Have you ever thought about the fourth Commandment? In our day and age, rest feels like a luxury. But it’s not a suggestion, it’s a Biblical mandate. And it’s a gift!
The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word “shabbath” meaning rest – and the commandment of a Sabbath is so significant that it’s the longest commandment in the Bible.
I heard a quote this morning from Pete Scazzero that said, “Hurrying is violence to the soul.”
It’s from a passage from Thomas Merton which says, “There is a very pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of it’s innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.”
Sabbath is more than just a day – it’s a way of life. In the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, its more important than ever to remember to stay connected to God and to give yourself time and space to do that.
How are you finding rest currently in your life? And if you aren’t, how can you create bigger margins for yourself?
