Jesus did some amazing miracles. Jesus turned water into wine, walked on water, fed multitudes with a small lunch, not to mention the healings. Jesus healed the blind, took the cripple by the hand and lifted him up to walk. He healed those with epilepsy, speech impediments, horrible skin diseases and even death. When you cure death that is a pretty amazing healing. For all that, Jesus never healed anyone of lying. Jesus apparently didn’t heal people of greed, pride, lust, hate or anyone of the vices He encountered. Think about it for a moment: Jesus healed a shriveled hand withered by disease, but He didn’t heal a heart withered by anger. Why is that? I have a friend who teaches CPR and one of the key principles in CPR is you never give someone something that they can do for themselves. Why would Jesus heal me of my addiction or habit or more directly sin, if I didn’t want to be healed? I am not denying the power of sin, habit or addiction. If I am waiting for Jesus to do something for me and I don’t really want it done then why would He waste His time on me and my problem? If I want to hate someone or some group why would Jesus heal me of hate?
Of all the Ten Commandments I suppose the one I break most consistently is the call to set aside a day of rest for worship, recovery and reflection. I love working. I find great pleasure in work. I love working on our house. Not far from my desk I have a long list of projects I want to do. I love working with my church. I have teaching plans for at least four studies I want to lead and I have sermons planned for the rest of the year. I have sermon plans for next year already in the works. I have a list of people I want to go visit today. I love church work (most of the time). I love to write. It is work, but I love it. I have five novels that I really want to write. I want to do a devotional commentary on Psalms. I have about half a book written based on dumb things I have done and am outlining a book about how discipleship is like being a dog. I could easily spend all my time writing. If I were to suddenly win a lottery jackpot (I have been told I will not win because I don’t play), I don’t think my love of work or schedule would change.
But now the irony, I find my creativity is diminishing and that I am frequently fatigued. I am also finding that my concentration is seriously compromised. Last night as I was saying my prayers before bed, I was asking God to restore my energy and vitality. Why didn’t He miraculously zapp me with energy so that this morning I could roar into the day? Maybe it is because I have ignored what He has said over and over in the Bible about rest. I find the ideal of stopping work bothersome. I want to rest, but only after I get EVERYTHING else done. My wife suggested that after we complete the next phase of our house restoration we should get away for a couple of days. I actually found that suggestion a little upsetting; I had a gut level twist. Resting seems such a waste, I know it is not, but in my workaholic mind I feel that to not do is in some way evil. If I am going to ask God to restore my energy, I must conform my life to what He says about rest.
Okay, I have confessed something broken in me. Can you do the same? Can you look at an area in your life where you know that change needs to happen, but you are waiting for a zapp from God? Join me in partnering with God. As I work (there is some irony for you) on making room for rest in my life, I suspect that God will give me more than I expect by blessing and multiplying the rest I do take. I came across a wonderful statement that I think we all should learn: “In Spiritual warfare the mightiest weapon is obedience to our Master.”
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