Have you asked someone how they are doing and had the common response “busy”? I know I’ve given it myself, and it’s supposed to imply that you are important and productive. Except we forget that just because we are busy doesn’t mean we are doing what God has called us to do. That’s a tough one to admit sometimes. In the North American culture, we equate busyness with productivity and worth. It’s not the same, though, and really hinders many of us from entering God’s rest and understanding our worth as defined by Him.
I have learned that when I am getting overwhelmed or stressed because my life is too full, I need to stop and ask a few questions:
1. Am I called to do this? Of course, I am called to Jesus first, not to a task. But from there, sometimes God calls us to do something, and sometimes He doesn’t. When we assume that everything that’s in front of us is a calling, we can tend to get overcommitted and overwhelmed. First, we stop, slow down and really question God on whether or not this task or commitment is something He has for us, or if we are taking it on to try to prove worth or meaning.
2. Am I called to this but I need to find a different way to do it? Sometimes, we are to take a different role than we first imagined, and need to be willing to go a different direction. We are allowed to change our minds! And we are actually helped by taking correction and redirection whether it be from God or a godly person He has sent to help us in this way.
3. Am I not called to this but I’m trying to force it to meet a need in me? If the answer is that God is not calling me to this, then I need to let it go and give it to God. I don’t care how wonderful it is, I won’t have the provision for it if it’s not where God wants me. With His call comes His provision, and that includes provision for strength, wisdom, and all the rest. Now, that doesn’t mean that just because things go wrong that I’m not called to it, but I would keep coming and asking Him about it. He might be working through the struggle, and that’s exactly where He’s called you to be. But I sometimes get a very clear “no” which makes me want to argue and stomp my foot. I have to be willing to let go of whatever it is in order to move forward and have the energy for the rest of what God has called me to right now.
4. If I am called to do whatever it is, are you seeking Him for everything you need? Like I said before, with the call comes the provision. So, expect Him to show up! I couldn’t tell you how He was going to provide or bring enough for things, but I know He always does in His way and in His time. It’s kind of like the manna in the wilderness for the children of Israel. It wasn’t the way they wanted it, but He provided for the time. Draw close and ask for how He is going to provide for the calling, regardless of how impossible it may seem.
I hope that asking yourself some of these questions rather than allowing the “should” of life to beat you down will free you up to move back into rest. We are called to rest after all, not busyness! Rest doesn’t mean we aren’t doing anything and are passive, but rather rest is operating out of the resources of Christ’s Life within rather than trusting our own rather paltry resources. I heard a man say recently that the highest form of faith is rest, and that made me think. We often act as though the highest form of faith is the found in the busiest people. But if they are not called to the fray of the moment, they are not operating in faith at all. So, how do you push into the rest of God today? And then how do you move deeper into what He is calling you to do rather than spinning your wheels just to be busy?
As we enter into God’s faith-rest life we cease from our own works, just as God celebrates his finished works and rests in them. So then we must be eager to experience this faith-rest life, so that no one falls short by following the same pattern of doubt and unbelief. Hebrews 4:10-11