I am not sure why I am drawn to the topic of rest, but I want to include one more entry on the topic. I have been enjoying a season of rest, even though it is a busy time for me. It may seem like a oxymoron - I am resting while I work, but it's true. I am doing what I love and the sense of accomplishment each day is gratifying. Also, I am spending more study time in the Word than I have in years, and I am exercising five times a week. All that has contributed to my rest as I sit in my recliner, facing a busy day ahead while I write this Memo.
Last year I produced a daily devotional called The Leadership Walk (soon it will be available for purchase). It focused on many leadership topics, but every seven days I wrote something about rest (I called them Rest Stops during our leadership walk), which made it the topic with the most entries. I include below two entries from the 52 essays on rest from The Leadership Walk. If you are interested in seeing the rest of them (pardon the pun), you can check them out here. For now, here are two teasers from that series:
1. "All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless" - Ecclesiastes 2:3.
The wisdom writer described people who are workaholics, who cannot stop working and cannot enjoy the work being done. Even when they stop working, their minds are back on the work, which is not a pleasant experience, but one filled with grief and pain. Worry, anxiety, regret and anger can consume leaders, turning their rest time into an opportunity to run mental marathons. Leaders are especially prone to this type of experience, for the duties and responsibilities of leading people and organizations can lead to sleepless, restless nights. The writer of today's verse described this scenario as meaningless, futile and pointless.
LEADERSHIP STEP: Do you stay up nights or wake up early due to worry or anxiety about work-related issues? Do you find it difficult to leave work mentally even when you are on a long weekend or holiday? Then incorporate the following as a daily or regular ritual: Read Psalm 127:2, which states that God gives to those He loves even in their sleep. Then when you go to bed, take a day off or a vacation, say, "Lord, I put you in charge while I am gone. Watch over my work."
2."Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you" - Psalm 116:7.
The psalmist made an interesting statement in this one verse. First, he wrote that his soul needed to 'return' to its rest. That indicates that rest is the natural state for the soul. Second, the psalmist commanded his soul to rest. That means that rest is a decision, well within the capability of each person to enter and enjoy. Third, the soul is the realm of the emotions, so the rest the psalmist was referring to was not a vacation on the beach. Fourth, the psalmist reasoned with his soul, providing it with an important fact: God had been good to the psalmist. It helps to remember what God has done in the past so that any current turmoil or confusion can be put into proper perspective so that rest may be maintained.
LEADERSHIP STEP: Your Step today is to reflect on your state of unrest in light of today's verse. First, confess or admit if you have lost your rest. Second, reason with yourself and produce facts that enable your soul to be at rest. This will include going over all things God has done for you in the past. If He did those things for you in the past, He can do them again! Finally, don't act like you have no role to play in your rest. It is a decision no matter what you are going through.
I hope these are helpful. Have a blessed, rest-filled week!
********
KENYA NEEDS: Read my post Bricks that explains another business we have helped establish in Kenya. Then give online using PayPal or send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.
Comments