Resting part 2
I always try to use myself as an example, so that no one else will get offended. So when we're talking about resting--which is NOT inactivity, but is Holy Spirit directed activity--kind of the best way I can desribe it is by doing the thing that makes you... you. For me, it's writing. When I'm sitting at the keyboard, or when I have a pen in my hand, I feel like I'm where I belong. Writers write, right? That's not just what I do. That's who I am. I have story ideas rattling around in my head 24/7. So when I let them out, or when I let out my (some would call them) crazy ideas about Jesus... I'm working, but really I'm resting. I'm not forcing anything. I'm just letting what's inside flow out. And I have to tell you, I've been writing all my life. But it wasn't until I started writing Jesus books that anything really happened. Now--starting with my Jesus books--I've published like a dozen books. I've written about half a dozen more that I haven't published yet. I'm not bragging, I'm trying to illustrate that when you, as Psalm 37:5 says, "Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." When we invite God into the situation HE makes it happen. That's my point. I'm a writer. Yes. But it wasn't until I committed my writing to the Lord that anything came from it. So in order to rest--to let the Holy Spirit lead you--you don't stop doing. And you don't start trying to be someone you're not. You do you. You do that thing that lights your soul on fire. That thing that fills you up. That thing that gives you peace. Both of mind and body. And by that I don't mean being a couch potato. I know people that only feel at peace in their body when they're being active. Working out, what have you. And as physically exhausting as that can be, it is also a form of rest for those people. Let me say it like this: "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and finish the work" (John 4:34). Now a little context: Jesus sent His disciples to go get Him some food because He was hungry. In the meantime He found a woman to minister to. When the disciples got back He wasn't hungry anymore. Because what filled Jesus up--more even than physical food--is serving people. Doing the will of His Father. LOVING people. I've found that sometimes when I'm in a groove, in the zone, when the words are just spilling out of me and onto the page, that I don't always stop to eat. There have been times when I stayed up late because writing was more restful to me than sleep. So I guess my thought for today is: as my middle school wrestling coach would say, "Find something you're good at and stick with it." Find that thing that really let's you be YOU. Stop trying to be someone you're not. Embrace who you are. You can't be someone you're not, no matter how hard you try. But when you be who you are everything flows. Everything lines up. When you be who you are you won't wear yourself out. You'll be able to OPERATE--again, not inactivity, but Holy Spirit directed activity--from a posture of rest. And what you do, as you empty yourself, will fill you up. The more you love, the more you feel love. The more you be who you are, the more you ARE who you are!