Published January 16th, 2013 by

Rest

Aren’t you tired? I know I was. You see, I took it upon myself to micro-manage my family. I took on responsibilities in extended family that were not my problem. Total strangers could depend on me to save them.

After much distress in body, soul and mind, God finally got through to me.

That each one of you should know how to possess (control, manage) his own body in consecration (purity, separated from things profane) and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:4, AMP)

The God could manage the others quite well without my help.

O Lord, You have pleaded the causes of my soul [You have managed my affairs and You have protected my person and my rights]; You have rescued and redeemed my life! (Lamentations 3:58, AMP)

I expect He doesn’t need yours either!

Prayer: Father God, forgive us for taking on what is not ours to do. In Christ. Amen.

Brenda Wood

"I believe Jesus is the answer to every question." Brenda Wood is a motivational speaker, writer and author of Heartfelt, 366 Devotions for Common Sense Living. She is also a recovered bulimic who has gained and lost several 1000 pounds over the years! She understands the pain of overweight and the agony of life with an eating disorder. Brenda is known for her common sense wisdom, sense of humor and quirky comments.

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Published April 4th, 2011 by

Rest Is Good and Godly

My wife and I just returned from our 30thanniversary celebration—a cruise in the Caribbean. We had a wonderful time. I relearned a good lesson: rest is good and godly. 

Once upon a time, I was very good at working hard and then resting well. I used to be good at balancing work and rest. This vacation reminded me that, like a lot of people, I’ve lost the art of the beautiful rhythm of work/rest. 

Why? 

Some of it is external. For the last five years I’ve worked out of my home office. This makes it more difficult to differentiate between “work space” and “rest space.” Add to that the advent of “smart” technology and email, texts, calls are at your fingertips 24/7: a blessing and a curse. 

Some of it is internal. I forgot that Jesus doesn’t call us to be the energizer bunny, nor does Jesus model 24/7 work. In fact, Jesus models the blessed rhythm of work/rest: Matthew 14:23; Luke 5:15-16; Luke 6:12-13. 

Jesus shows us how to rest. Jesus teaches that we can rest and not feel guilty. 

Jesus demonstrates that we worship God just as much when we rest as when we work. Our times of Sabbath rest, silence, and solitude demonstrate our trust in God, our dependence upon God, our realization that we are not indispensable. As Spurgeon wrote, “Sometimes the most spiritual thing a person can do is sleep.” 

I’m recommitting to living Jesus-ly: by resting. 

Join the Conversation

How’s your rhythm of work/rest?

Bob Kellemen

Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., LCPC, served for over a dozen years as Chairman of the Master of Arts in Christian Counseling and Discipleship Department at Capital Bible Seminary. He is now Professor-at-Large in that Department. In his three pastoral ministries, Bob has equipped 100s of lay people as biblical counselors and spiritual friends. In his role as Founder and CEO of RPM Ministries (http://www.rpmministries.org), Bob is known for his Christ-centered, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-informed approach to equipping local churches for biblical counseling and spiritual formation. Bob is the Executive Director of the Association of Biblical Counselors' Center for Church Equipping. He also serves as the Launch Director for the Biblical Counseling Coalition. Bob is the author of 'Soul Physicians', Spiritual Friends, Beyond the Suffering, Sacred Friendships, and God's Healing for Life's Losses.

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