A Hurried Existence, Part 4

Bill Hybels, Pastor of Willow Creek, stated in the early '90s, "The pace at which I've been doing the work of God is destroying God's work in me."

For you, this may be a series of tidbits on Sabbath; I hope it is more than that. For me, it is a testimony of God restoring His work in me.

A few nights ago Joy & I were lying in bed reading a book together. We try to make this a habit; right now we are reading an incredible book, "The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family" by Patrick Lencioni (For those of you who have read my book, you realize his impact on my life). At some point between reading & discussing, I began to get quite emotional. I came to the realization that God was restoring me from years of allowing my "serving God" replacing my "knowing God." For years I kept rationalizing to myself that this was only a really busy season & that it would soon slack off. Numerous times I would approach my pastor & say, "I think I need to back off from this activity, I am becoming very unhealthy." A common reply among pastors, "I'm afraid that this is just the nature of the beast (ministry)." After hearing this countless times I concluded, "Well, if that is the case, then I would rather be a lay person who loves God than a pastor who is bitter." I remember saying to Joy, "I dread to think, if we had children, the impression of God they would have because of my life; it is not worth it. I choose Jesus over my ministry." And so I did.

Back to the other night in bed, I turned to Joy & said, "I am so thankful that God is restoring His work in me; I need Him so desperately. I hope you can see the difference--my life is changing." My eyes teared up as she responded, "I am finally beginning to see again the man of God that I fell in love with."

You may conclude from this post, what does this have to do with Sabbath? Well...everything. Sabbath means to stop. For me, it also means "to be connected." If you are living a 'hurried existence,' maybe you simply need to stop. Stop & be connected...with God...with your spouse...with friends....with children...stop.

Until tomorrow, I leave you with this:
"We feel honestly the pull of man obligations & try to fulfill them all. And we are unhappy, uneasy, strained, oppressed, & fearful we shall be shallow...We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer & deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity & peace & power. If only we could slip over into that Center!...We have seen & known some people who have found this deep Center of living, where the fretful calls of life are integrated, where No as well as Yes can be said with confidence." --Thomas Kelly

Grace & peace.