Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10 NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 TPT)
My God,
What is Your version of rest?
I work until my nervous system starts counting,
then push to see
how close to takeoff I can get
before hitting the eject button.
Yet somehow,
You call me to rest.
What does that even look like?
Does Sabbath mean stillness?
No phone.
No to-do list.
No proving myself.
Just You.
Do I even know how?
Or have I spent so long
earning,
doing,
producing,
that I’ve forgotten
how to simply be?
My mind never stops.
*Get up.*
*You’re lazy.*
*You don’t need more sleep.*
*You don’t have time to read.*
*Your list is too long.*
The louder I try to be still,
the louder those voices become.
So here I am,
on vacation,
asking You a question
I never thought I’d have to ask.
How do I rest?
How do I fight the lie
that if I’m not moving,
I’m failing?
That if I’m not accomplishing,
I’m wasting the day?
That if I’m not useful,
I’m somehow less worthy
of being alive?
You never created me
to earn the air in my lungs.
You breathed it into me
before I had ever done
a single thing for You.
So maybe rest
isn’t quitting.
Maybe it isn’t laziness.
Maybe rest
is trusting You enough
to believe
the world keeps turning
even when I stop.
Maybe Sabbath
was never about doing less,
but believing
I don’t have to carry
what was never mine to hold.
Teach me to be still.
Teach me
that resting in You
is not wasted time.
And when my mind
begins counting again,
remind me
that I am not a machine.
I am Your child.
AMEN.
h/t KV