Thoughtful Tuesday-Getting the rest we need.

 

As I was doing some bible study/personal God time this week I came across a couple verses that got me thinking.  One of them is Galatians 6:9. In the Message version, it reads like this, " So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit."  I think that sometimes people understand this as meaning keep doing services, actions,  'stuff', even if it is to the detriment of yourself or your family, because eventually we will get something out of it  and we will be greatly rewarded if we just stick to it long enough. Even if we are worn out, broken down or physically, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted, we just need to keep trucking along and do all the 'stuff' everyone thinks we should do.

 I don't think so. I think that we are supposed to do 'good' and not let it get us down. I don't think that we are supposed to run ourselves ragged trying to be everything for everyone. Doing 'works' and doing good are not always the same thing. Sometimes they are, but not always. To me, and you don't have to agree with me, doing good is well...doing good. We all know what good is, really. Doing good is doing what God wants you to do when and how HE wants you to do it. It is living a life God would be proud of. A life that would please Him. We should do what it says in 1Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Everything we do should glorify God. Everything.
 It doesn't necessarily have to be a public thing. It can be very private. No one but you and God even needs to know what your particular 'good' thing/things is/are. We just have to do those things in the right mindset. We can't do them begrudgingly, or just because it's expected, or whatever your personal reasons might be. We have to make sure that we are doing the things God has called us to do. Sometimes we don't get the right message from God. Sometimes the needs of the church or ourselves or even our own emotions cry out louder than the voice of God and we end up making rash judgements or wrong choices. Do we keep doing those things anyway and wait for our 'right time' to come? Maybe. That's a personal call, I think.

Galatians 6:7-8 says "7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."NIV

If we are sowing when we are tired (spiritually, emotionally, or physically), unfulfilled, concerned about our image, worried about what other people think, sowing with halfheartedness, resentment, or anything that is not 'good', what kind of harvest will we be reaping at the end?  Not the kind of harvest I am personally looking for. I don't want a half-hearted harvest. I don't want a harvest full of resentment. I don't want a harvest that doesn't bring joy. I don't want a harvest that comes with a 'whew, I sure am glad that's over'. I want a joyful harvest. Maybe that's selfish, I don't know. That's just me being honest right now.

Matthew 11:28. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." We go to God.  We let Him restore. We ask Him for guidance and we keep asking until we CLEARLY hear what He wants us to do.  Maybe we step down from things, narrow our 'to-do lists', clear out the clutter of our lives, re-focus. Whatever it takes to restore that relationship with God. Whatever it takes to get back our energy, our hope, our fervor, our zeal, our excitement for God and for following Him. That is going to look different for each of us, but that's OK. Your friends will still like you.(Probably, and if they don't then well...re-examine your friendships.) Your Pastor will still like you. God will still like you. It is not selfish. It is not self-serving. It is what it takes for you to be productive in the kingdom and in your calling.

Isaiah 40:28-31

NIV

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.