And He said unto them, ‘Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while’ (Mark 6:31, KJV).
I have learned many lessons from my husband. Dan is a people person and views strangers as friends he simply hasn’t met yet. But his heart beats for the lost man who seems to be running from God with every ounce of energy he has. Dan’s passion gave birth to the Fireside Ministry. Every Sunday night men from all walks of life gather in our driveway around a fire pit to share what God is doing in their lives as well as the struggles they are experiencing. They ask for help. They pray for each other. Fireside time is a holy time where God shows up and works in amazing ways.
One Sunday night I slipped into the garage to grab something out of the refrigerator we keep there. When I heard Dan talking about the spaces we have to create in our lives, I stopped and listened.
For months, I had been brutally examining my life. I was very busy doing good things, but were those things ordained by God or tasks simply assigned by my own need to be seen and heard? I was tired and discouraged--ready to give up.
I sat down on the garage steps and listened as a master teacher laid out a life-changing truth for me.
Make Space to Fan the Flames
Dan said, “I give Scott a hard time about his fire-building technique. But there is a truth here for all of us about the spaces we need to have in our lives. Scott cannot stand to see space in a fire.
The minute one of the logs burns through, Scott jumps up and replaces it with two logs... and the fire always struggles to keep burning. Here’s why. A fire has to have space to burn its brightest.
There has to be room for air to get through and fan the flames. If there are no spaces, the fire will soon die out because it can’t breathe.” “Mary, you need space in your life for Me,” the Father whispered to my heart.
I immediately knew what I had to do. I had to lay down every commitment, every ministry, and every log in my life at the feet of Jesus. I was smothering the power of God because there were too many logs on my fire and no space for Him to fan the flames of His plans for me.
The choice to create spaces and choose to rest changed my life. I learned just how important rest is. I also learned that I had choices to make in order to find the rest I so desperately needed.
Our Need for Rest Is God-Given
I’ve repeatedly tried to defy my God-given need for rest, thinking that I’m somehow above both the occurrence and consequences of exhaustion. Some urgent task will always call my name, as will that person whose life will absolutely disintegrate before my eyes if I don’t do something right now. My ego loves those deadly toxic strokes that are from the pit and smell like smoke.
Stress shouts, “Get busy! There is so much to do!” Stress applauds and dances with delight as I keep on “doing” instead of “being.” Life is so daily and often filled with uncertainty, a reality that can make me very nervous.
I want to know what the plan is and how that plan is going to be implemented. Details! I need details! Instead, God calls me to rest. But I don’t want to rest.
Trust me when I say that we will rest--one way or another. The logs will come off and spaces will be created for our good and His glory. God’s love will see to it. He is our Shepherd.
“The Lord is my shepherd” (Psalm 23:1, NKJV).
Discipleship without Rest Isn't Sustainable
For years I desperately struggled to be a Christ follower with only a head knowledge of who God was and wanted to be in my life. The result was a pitifully shallow existence. Stress and frustration were my constant companions.
I grew up in a Christian home, attending church every time the doors were open. I sang all of the right songs, spoke all of the right words, and did all of the right things in front of all the right people. I fervently prayed that my works would validate my faith and desperately hoped that by following the rules, I would please the Ruler.
It was not until middle school that the spiritual integrity of a dynamic youth pastor made me hunger and thirst for something more. I wanted to know God. I needed to experience the unconditional love of God.
During a special Saturday evening church service, I sat in my usual spot, clutching the back of the pew in front of me while wrestling with God over the condition of my soul and my eternal security. After all, even as a middle school student I was an active church member as well as a soloist and pianist for our worship services.
How embarrassing to walk down that aisle, admitting to everyone that I’d been living a lie. My mind argued that I knew all about God--and then the deeper truth of that argument hit me. Yes, I knew about Him, but I didn’t know Him.
God’s perfect love settles for nothing less than an intimate and loving relationship with His children. That night I met God. I surrendered all that I knew about myself to all that I knew about Him.
While the course of my life was changed forever, I quickly discovered that I still had to deal with stressful situations. The difference was that God’s love preceded me and surrounded and sustained me as I lived each day. Knowing we are loved fosters contentment and peace in our hearts, and when our hearts are filled with peace, there is little room for stress.
God's Heart for Us to Rest
We once had an Australian cattle dog named Dallas. Australian cattle dogs are extremely loyal to a master of their choice. Dallas chose our son Jered to be his master.
When Jered came home from school each day, Dallas would greet him at the door and follow him wherever he went. When Jered did homework, Dallas curled under the desk. When Jered ran an errand, Dallas rode shotgun.
Dallas instinctively knew that the only place he would find genuine rest was at the feet of his master. The same is true in our lives.
I’m a stickler for details. But God calls me to leave the details up to Him and rest. I don’t want to rest. When I rest, I feel guilty. I have places to go, people to see, and important things to do.
But I hear the quiet whisper of the One who knows me best and loves me most, “Mary, it is time to rest.” I have tried to ignore that whisper more times than I care to admit, but it is only a temporary maneuver on my part.
The Lord is my Shepherd and is well acquainted with the antics of stubborn sheep like me. He will lovingly make me lie down in green pastures and firmly lead me beside quiet waters. Why?
He wants to refresh my soul. He wants me to experience the peace that can only be found at His feet.
Rest is not really an option. It is a spiritual discipline that we need to make a spiritual habit in our life.
A Beautiful Example of God Showing Up When We Rest
Elijah is a great example of a man in need of rest. One day he was the conquering hero, but the next time we see him, he is sitting under a Juniper tree, begging God to let him die. The poor man was simply exhausted.
Jezebel was the evil and influential wife of Ahab, King of Israel. Jezebel was fanatical in her worship of the pagan god, Baal, and tried to impose her beliefs on the people of Israel. One man stood in her way--Elijah.
When Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to a showdown on Mount Carmel, God answered Elijah's prayer with a stream of fire from heaven. Ahab and Jezebel were not impressed. And Jezebel was furious. When she learned what had happened on Mt. Carmel, she put a contract out on Elijah.
Now stop and think about that for a moment.
Elijah had been in the presence of God. God answered Elijah's prayer in a powerful way. Idols had fallen. The prophets of Baal had either fled or been destroyed. And Elijah is worried about one angry woman? Seriously?
Elijah was simply tired and needed to rest. He found that rest while sitting under a Juniper tree, waiting in silence for God to show up.
Many of us have bought into the lie that who we are is based on what we do or don’t do. We fill every waking moment with something or someone in order to prove our worth. After all, we must be worthy if we are doing worthy things, right?
Truth: Busyness does not always equal productivity.
Fact: The busier we are the more rest we need.
Our Worth Rests in God Alone
Period. What we do or don’t do has no effect on God’s love for us. We need to learn how to stop, wait in silence, and rest at the feet of our Master until He shows up.
My husband is the master of the ten-minute nap. Dan Southerland can sleep anywhere and anytime. It used to make me so angry when I walked through the living room and saw my husband sprawled out on the couch, taking a nap.
What a waste of time! He could be doing so many more important things with those ten minutes. Right?
It took a two-year-battle with clinical depression to make me understand that rest is a command from God, a built-in-need meant for our good. After all, who knows us better than the One who created us?
Fatigue is not one of the spiritual gifts, yet we proudly wear our dark-circled and sleep-deprived eyes as badges of honor and sacrificial living. The enemy loves that kind of flawed thinking. If he can keep us exhausted, he is confident we will be no threat to him.
Every time I obey God’s call to “come apart,” He transforms what is nothing more than ineffective commotion and frenzied energy into a powerful, life-transforming relationship with Him. Rest empowers us to live a life of purpose. Rest fuels His passion within us.
The human body is programmed for a certain amount of rest. We can cheat it short-term but not long-term. Rest affects the efficiency rating of this human body in which we dwell.
Stress can make us sick. In fact, according to medical experts, stress is deadly. Between 60 to 90 percent of all medical patients complain about stress-related symptoms. My doctor tells me that stress can be good or bad, but either way, stress takes its toll.
Throughout the years God has gently grabbed my attention with an illness that drove me to bed or a crisis that drove me to my knees. He is a persistent loving Father and well aware of just how much rest we need and when we need it.
We will rest--one way or another.
God’s love will see to it.
Photo Credit: ©Pexels/Jeremy Bishop
Mary Southerland is also the Co-founder of Girlfriends in God, a conference and devotion ministry for women. Mary’s books include, Hope in the Midst of Depression, Sandpaper People, Escaping the Stress Trap, Experiencing God’s Power in Your Ministry, 10-Day Trust Adventure, You Make Me So Angry, How to Study the Bible, Fit for Life, Joy for the Journey, and Life Is So Daily. Mary relishes her ministry as a wife, a mother to their two children, Jered and Danna, and Mimi to her six grandchildren – Jaydan, Lelia, Justus, Hudson, Mo, and Nori.