A Word for Our Arbor Family
A couple of months ago, Pastor Adam asked our church staff what we were personally doing for rest. I realized very quickly I didn’t have an answer. Not a good one anyway. In that conversation, I was reminded (again) that I’m not obeying a divine mandate to rest.
If you don’t know me yet, I’ll fill you in. I’m the worst at resting. I’m bi-vocational, working a full-time job at a Pro-Life non-profit, and serving in multiple ways at Arbor Church. I also have other volunteer positions where I give time, and an ADHD pile of never-ending ideas for projects and to-dos. Obviously, I don’t sit still very well. My home office is an abyss of ‘in-progress’ tasks. Rest? Ummm... I’ll get to that later. Consequently, I often feel like I’m drowning in tasks... In a storm, many times, of my own making.
In Matthew 8:23-27, scripture tells us Jesus took a nap in the back of the boat during a ‘great storm’. The disciples woke Jesus, fearing they would drown.
"Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.” Then Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm." - Matthew 8:26 (NCV)
“You don’t have enough faith.” Ouch. Is this where the real struggle is? Am I not trusting that God is bigger than the storm? I often say to myself, "I’ll rest when this storm is over... When this project is finished… When the event is wrapped up…" Why? Because my inclination is to struggle through the storm - and then I charge right into the next one. This world is only going to offer one storm after another. It feels like everywhere you turn these days, there’s another ‘great storm’. Our effort and will aren’t going to make the storms go away. We need to remember that Jesus is in the boat with us... and He’s taking a nap!
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”
I’m personally working on this. I will pray, not for the storm to just go away, but that I can find peace in the middle of it. I will trust God with the storm, and not worry about my place in it. I will make time, in the storm, for real rest.
Storms are a part of life. We might get wet in the storm - probably really wet. But the almighty God of the universe is in the boat with us. He’s not going to let us drown. You can go take a nap!
If you don’t know me yet, I’ll fill you in. I’m the worst at resting. I’m bi-vocational, working a full-time job at a Pro-Life non-profit, and serving in multiple ways at Arbor Church. I also have other volunteer positions where I give time, and an ADHD pile of never-ending ideas for projects and to-dos. Obviously, I don’t sit still very well. My home office is an abyss of ‘in-progress’ tasks. Rest? Ummm... I’ll get to that later. Consequently, I often feel like I’m drowning in tasks... In a storm, many times, of my own making.
In Matthew 8:23-27, scripture tells us Jesus took a nap in the back of the boat during a ‘great storm’. The disciples woke Jesus, fearing they would drown.
"Jesus answered, “Why are you afraid? You don’t have enough faith.” Then Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm." - Matthew 8:26 (NCV)
“You don’t have enough faith.” Ouch. Is this where the real struggle is? Am I not trusting that God is bigger than the storm? I often say to myself, "I’ll rest when this storm is over... When this project is finished… When the event is wrapped up…" Why? Because my inclination is to struggle through the storm - and then I charge right into the next one. This world is only going to offer one storm after another. It feels like everywhere you turn these days, there’s another ‘great storm’. Our effort and will aren’t going to make the storms go away. We need to remember that Jesus is in the boat with us... and He’s taking a nap!
In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest.”
I’m personally working on this. I will pray, not for the storm to just go away, but that I can find peace in the middle of it. I will trust God with the storm, and not worry about my place in it. I will make time, in the storm, for real rest.
Storms are a part of life. We might get wet in the storm - probably really wet. But the almighty God of the universe is in the boat with us. He’s not going to let us drown. You can go take a nap!