Rest

I’ve been pushing really hard this year, writing and speaking, booking international trips, counseling and coaching clients three days a week, hosting a podcast with my brother, maintaining a farm and two rental properties, plus getting ready for four Born 2 Be Wild hikes this Fall. 

On top of that, the political unrest in America, the firings, the court cases, and now multiple assassinations makes it feel like the whole world is a little out of control. I can either worry about all of that, and all the work I still need to get done…or I can rest.

I choose to rest.

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,

in quietness and trust is your strength (Isaiah 30:15-18, NIV).

I’ve always loved those verses from Isaiah, but they seem more fitting than ever in these times. As followers of Jesus, we have a unique opportunity to display a different mode of operation to the world right now. We can model peace and rest.

Let’s take a fresh look at the story from the Gospels about Jesus and his disciples in a furious storm. 

“Suddenly a fierce storm came up. Huge waves were breaking against the boat, and it began filling with water. Oddly, Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4)

There’s just so much here! We know how the story ends. Jesus calms the storm, asks his disciples what they were afraid of, etc. But I want to spend some time here on what Jesus was doing during the storm (because I think it has a lot to teach us.) He was sleeping.

Now, I don’t think he was unaware of the storm. When you have huge waves tossing a boat around like a rowboat in a hurricane, it’s not something you can miss. Plus, the wind noise was deafening, because it takes a lot of wind to make waves big enough to capsize a boat. Still, Jesus was sleeping. How?

• He had a pillow. This is essential for good sleep. The same waves that were rocking the boat, were rocking him to sleep. Cushioning is critical.

• He trusted His Father. He knew His life was in the Father’s hands and no one, or no thing, could take His life without Father’s permission. Over and over again, when Jesus was threatened with death or assassination, Scripture would say, “His time had not yet come.” In other words, Someone else determined when it was His time. Not people. Not circumstances.

So here’s where we can learn lessons from Jesus:

1. Fluff your pillow and take a nap. All of the media saturation about world-wide crises has worn me out. God’s in charge. So I’m going to rest. By the way, this applies to a lot of areas in our lives. Some of the best parenting advice I was ever given was by my good friend, Bobby Gordon. He said, “Do the best you can…then take a nap.” In other words, we can worry ourselves to death about our kids, or we can trust that we’ve done the best we can, though imperfectly, and trust their ability to make decisions with the foundation we’ve provided.

2. Trust the Father. He’s not unaware of the storm we’re going through. He sees us. He loves us deeply. He can be trusted. Make His Kingdom and His righteousness our first priority, and He’ll take care of the rest (Matt. 6:33).

Take all of your concerns to God and ask for the help you need. In the middle of the furious storm, the disciples asked the wrong question. They asked, “Don’t you care that we’re drowning here?” Wrong question. Of course he cared for them. Perhaps a better question would have been, “Hey Jesus, how ‘bout you shut down this whole storm thing ‘cause we’re up to our waist in water and we could really use some rest?” 

Better question.

Peter learned that lesson through a lot of storms and reminds us to do the same, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

Because he cares for you. I love that. So take a deep breath, grab a pillow, and let’s get some much-needed rest.

Question:  In what situation do you need to trust God this week? How can we pray for you?