I think we all agree that rest is something we could use more often. Our lives are so packed with activities we often feel overwhelmed. We say things like, “there’s no place like home”; “home is where the heart is”; “I can’t wait to get home.” It often seems home is the last place we really want to be. We are tired from a full schedule and demanding responsibilities, yet here we are sitting in our homes longing to be back in the middle of the normal that wears us down.
Psalm 127:2 In vain you get up early and stay up late, working hard to have enough food— yes, he gives sleep (rest) to the one he loves.
I have a confession to make. I've enjoyed the days spent with my family and the refreshing rest from a less rigid schedule. I've enjoyed communicating with the church in a different way, finding unique opportunities to reach out and connect. I've enjoyed preparing and preaching using a different platform than usual. Yes, it has been challenging to try to find ways to connect and minister to the church. To write instead of teach. To preach to a camera instead of face-to-face. To say it's been challenging is actually an understatement but I have found great joy in the rest that the Lord has given me through this.
How about you? Are you making the most of the opportunity to rest? Are you using the time to reflect and possibly “change” your approach to life and especially your spiritual life? Do you find yourself hoping for the normal that once wore you down?
I have concerns that when life becomes normal again, many of us will rush right back into what causes stress, and anxiety in our lives. I feel that way about church too. We will reunite in worship but let’s not rush right back to the patterns of church without a renewed spirit and a refreshed outlook. Let’s not miss new and different ways to communicate and unique opportunities to reach out and connect. If we are are hoping for normal, we may have wasted what the Lord intended as a time for much needed rest. We may miss out on a different outlook to worship or a way to connect to an audience who isn’t interested in what we call normal. Yes, we will return and I hope our return isn’t anything like normal.
Until we see each other again
Pastor Chad