I am a list-maker. I know I need lists of the things I need to get done, the things I need to remember, the books I want to read, the adventures I want to have something will be forgotten.
And I like my lists, I like seeing what I need to get done and I like checking things off. Sometimes I even put things I have already accomplished on my to do lists simply for the satisfaction of crossing it off.
In this culture we often get defined by what we produce and find our value in our accomplishments.
The biggest lesson I learned on the world race and still continually learn is that we are not the things we do or the things we’ve done. Our worth and our value is not found in these fleeting things, but in the fact that we were thought of in the mind of God, created in His image, and loved beyond all measure simply because we are His children.
Yet, I still love my lists. Don’t get me wrong, being productive and efficient is a good thing. And I need all those thoughts written down on paper instead of swirling around in my head.
But what I’ve realized lately is that I struggle to rest unless I feel like I have accomplished enough to earn that rest. And instead of relaxing and resting like a normal person I often want to optimize my rest time. I want to read this book, listen to this sermon, or many other things so that I feel that I used the time well.
God is showing me that there is something wrong with that thinking.
I listened to a sermon recently that talked about rest and the way God created us to need rest.
Think of the creation of the world, God created man on the sixth day after all the rest of the work was done and on our first full day in the world we rested with God. We were created and designed for this time with Him. We don’t earn it and we can’t do without it.
While we have been here at CGA, we have courses, papers, personal development plans, homework, blogs to write, projects to work on. The amount of tasks we could put into a day is overwhelming at times. And that is not to mention all the fun things we can fill our times with – there is always someone going out to dinner, going to a concert, having a movie night, or any number of fun activities that are happening. So when is there time to simply rest and be with God?
So the past two weekends I have made it a point to take a day as a Sabbath – meaning no working and intentional rest with the Lord. This past weekend I went to a park on a lake, hung up my hammock and sat with Jesus. I didn’t play worship music, I didn’t read a book, or even journal. I just sat. And it was good. It was good to step back, to remind myself that my worth is in the Lord, and to just be in His presence.
In Your presence is fullness of joy. Psalm 16:11
I want to encourage you all to stop and to rest. To sit and simply be with Jesus and remember how much He loves you simply because you are His child!
