“Come to me all you that are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28)
In the Bible, people came to Jesus for many different reasons. Some people came for forgiveness. Some came for answers. Others came for healing. Still others came to Jesus for eternal life. But in Matthew 11: 28, Jesus says you can come to him for rest. That means release from stress, release from overload.
Monday, I took off and headed for some much needed rest. We’re to take one day off every week. While the Bible say that we should rest on Sunday, for me Sunday is a far cry from rest. Sunday for me is full of preaching, meeting with people, and overseeing the worship experience, just to name a few – trust me I’m not resting. I really don’t think that it matter what day, but even Pastor’s need a day off.
I’ve notice over the last few years that when I’m tired emotionally, spiritually and physcially I became more irritated with the people around me. I don’t get as much done and to put it bluntly I’m not much fun to be around either. There a story of a pastor who’s members got mad at him because they couldn’t reach him on his day off. The pastor said, “Sorry, but that was my day off.” A member shouted back, “The devil doesn’t take a day off.” To which the pastor replied, “You’re right. And if I don’t, I’d be just like the devil.” Enough said about what happens to me when I don’t take the time to get some rest.
The last 48 hours has afforded me some time to really refresh and reflect. It’s amazing how cloudy your thoughts and emotions become when you become tired and wired. Well the long and the short of it is that I’ve learned a valuable lesson: when you get to busy to find time to steal way and get some rest, you’re just to darn busy.
One of the things that I’ve notice is that when I steal away, whether its a short ride, a long drive, a early morning workout or a day trip my thoughts become clearer. At the close of every year I make a conscience effort to be a better person than the year before by writing down some steps or a game plan. I really don’t believe in New Years resolutions but I do think that a person should simply find an area in their life that could use a little improvement and figure out how to deepen their life experience.
Well, I started writing my game plan for ’09 today. I haven’t completed my list but one of the things on my list is to deepen my relationships. I then asked myself what can I do to deepen my relationships? Here’s what I’m thinking give support, stability, self-expression and significance.
People need to know you’re with them, no matter what. That’s Support.
People need to know you got their back, no matter what. That’s Stability.
People need to know you will allow them to be who God made them, no matter what. That’s Self-expression.
People need to know they are important to you, no matter what. That’s Significance.
Take the next 7 or 8 days and challenge yourself to be better. I’ll be praying for you and get some rest for the journey.
In the Bible, people came to Jesus for many different reasons. Some people came for forgiveness. Some came for answers. Others came for healing. Still others came to Jesus for eternal life. But in Matthew 11: 28, Jesus says you can come to him for rest. That means release from stress, release from overload.
Monday, I took off and headed for some much needed rest. We’re to take one day off every week. While the Bible say that we should rest on Sunday, for me Sunday is a far cry from rest. Sunday for me is full of preaching, meeting with people, and overseeing the worship experience, just to name a few – trust me I’m not resting. I really don’t think that it matter what day, but even Pastor’s need a day off.
I’ve notice over the last few years that when I’m tired emotionally, spiritually and physcially I became more irritated with the people around me. I don’t get as much done and to put it bluntly I’m not much fun to be around either. There a story of a pastor who’s members got mad at him because they couldn’t reach him on his day off. The pastor said, “Sorry, but that was my day off.” A member shouted back, “The devil doesn’t take a day off.” To which the pastor replied, “You’re right. And if I don’t, I’d be just like the devil.” Enough said about what happens to me when I don’t take the time to get some rest.
The last 48 hours has afforded me some time to really refresh and reflect. It’s amazing how cloudy your thoughts and emotions become when you become tired and wired. Well the long and the short of it is that I’ve learned a valuable lesson: when you get to busy to find time to steal way and get some rest, you’re just to darn busy.
One of the things that I’ve notice is that when I steal away, whether its a short ride, a long drive, a early morning workout or a day trip my thoughts become clearer. At the close of every year I make a conscience effort to be a better person than the year before by writing down some steps or a game plan. I really don’t believe in New Years resolutions but I do think that a person should simply find an area in their life that could use a little improvement and figure out how to deepen their life experience.
Well, I started writing my game plan for ’09 today. I haven’t completed my list but one of the things on my list is to deepen my relationships. I then asked myself what can I do to deepen my relationships? Here’s what I’m thinking give support, stability, self-expression and significance.
People need to know you’re with them, no matter what. That’s Support.
People need to know you got their back, no matter what. That’s Stability.
People need to know you will allow them to be who God made them, no matter what. That’s Self-expression.
People need to know they are important to you, no matter what. That’s Significance.
Take the next 7 or 8 days and challenge yourself to be better. I’ll be praying for you and get some rest for the journey.
1 comment:
Thank you Pastor G. 2008 has been a challenging year! The blogs have been funny, reflective, painful, encouraging, meaningful,
open, loving and real. But we never would have made it without God and his unfailing love. I can hardly wait to see what next He has in store! (smile)
Nightshiftnurse
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