Is your service due?

He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to His name.
Psalm 23:2-3 (NLT)

It is interesting to see how the human nature just keep moving. As the earth constantly spins on its axis and causes it to move, we humans are also wired to always be on the move. In fact it takes much more effort to keep still than to move; any parent will attest to this, as it’s difficult to keep children still. Likewise when we are idle and not busy about our business, we feel the effect more because our bodies just want to be busy. However for a good reason the Bible encourages us to wait and be still. There are numerous verses that tells us to rest, because the soul can be restored if it’s found in a restful place.

God demonstrated restfulness when after all His creations, He rested on the seventh day.

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
Genesis 2:2 (NIV)

There was a time in Jesus’s ministry when He called the disciples aside and told them to rest for a while because they had not eaten the whole day. He purposefully told the disciples to pause so they could eat and rest and today He is urging us to rest too.

There was such a swirl of activity around Jesus, with so many people coming and going, that they were unable to even eat a meal. So Jesus said to his disciples, “Come, let’s take a break and find a secluded place where you can rest a while.”
Mark 6:31 (TPT)

You will agree with me that most of the time it takes an interruption to get us to stop and reflect on our lives. I believe that is God’s own way of saying, “Hey child, take a breather“. When your body has gone through so much stress and strain, it is important to take a minute and relax. Just as a car needs a service at regular intervals or after the car has covered a certain distance, we also desperately require regular servicing by our Father to function effectively as we were created to be.

41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? 42 Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.”
Luke 10:41-42 (TPT)

Jesus, told Martha that it’s good to be a busy body but the most important is spending time to sit under His feet. I think most times this is what God is saying to us, “my child you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing”.

How often do you schedule restful moments in your planner? Your phone needs to be charged to be useful because once the battery runs out, no matter how expensive or high-tech the phone is, it is no longer useful. There are mountains and valleys; lows and highs and all these create a balance in our lives. We can’t be productive if we just live on the spinning wheel of highs and mountains. To get the energy and strength to tackle your next mountain you need a recharging session to reset your operating system.

In fact, the next time God interrupts your schedule and you are forced to pause, do not get grumpy about it like I always do but take the interruption as His way of catching up with you to replenish you. We know He always wants to talk to us but mostly we are immersed in the busyness of life and we miss those beautiful moments of rest he has planned for us. Interestingly enough, some of the interruptions come in the form of spending time with your loved ones or giving you directions for your next steps.

Over the next few months, don’t be too busy to miss out on the simplicities of life but look out for the little interruptions of life and in the midst of that you will find the breath-taking move of God. Perhaps when you are stuck in traffic and nearly late for that meeting ask God exactly what He can show you and be ready to be blown away with the secrets He can share with you. This is not to approve stagnation and redundancy but this is encouraging the virtues of stillness, hearing from God and restfulness.

When Joshua was commanded by God to march the Israelites around Jericho for seven days, it was their stillness and patience that led to their victory. If they had followed their natural instincts and rushed into the war at the inappropriate time, they would not have succeeded in the battle. They learnt to stay still before God whilst He directed their path. Their forefathers had to pay the price when their impatience led them to make the golden calf.

Spending a nice afternoon with my two wonderful ladies at the Westpoint Festival, we all couldn’t help but agree that, being away from normalcy and camping over two hours drive away from home, had given us the rest we so desperately needed. We had some of the best laughs as we shared funny stories of our lives. That was God’s way of refreshing us. In your restfulness, God pours out His love on you. In the stillness, you will encounter a love so strong that, you cannot casually dismiss.

The Lord your God is with you. He is a hero who saves you. He happily rejoices over you, renews you with his love, and celebrates over you with shouts of joy.
Zephaniah 3:17 (GW)

We are in the middle of a house move and we have a moving-house checklist and have been delighted to be ticking away every task carried out. Interestingly enough, in our final week before the move, Eben hurt his back and was stuck in bed and my little boy also has high temperature. Everything just came to a standstill and all I could hear for my family was “Rest before the big move“.  We all had to refocus our energies on different things. Eben had some of the best sleeping days he’s ever had in a long time. The girls also got busy with their fun stuff. Well, I found me a new TV series. In the midst of all this, God came in to encounter us in a unique way. We experienced His love for us; the rest meant to us that He has got the move covered and so I shouldn’t stress about anything.

Ultimately, as the summer break comes to an end and kids go back to school, remember not to get stuck in the old routine but do make intentional effort to pause, rest and reflect. Allow your Father to speak to you in your stillness to give you the much needed energy to tackle your next assignment.

For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.
Jeremiah 31:25 (ESV)

Embrace your next interruption, because your service is due and your Father is eager to service you.

May you be filled with the Fullness of God and the Power of His Love!