Walking With Christ

The Value of Rest

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Don

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The Value of Rest

Mark 6:31  And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”  For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.(ESV)

Rest is not only physical.  The body needs rest from labor.  The mind needs rest from constant sorting, weighing, and solving.  The heart needs rest from carrying what was never meant to be carried alone.  The soul needs rest in the presence of God.  There are seasons where faithfulness means pressing forward, but there are also seasons where faithfulness means stepping away long enough to remember that the work was never supposed to become the source of life.

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3 responses to “The Value of Rest”

  1. RW - Disciple of Yahshua Avatar
    RW – Disciple of Yahshua

    “work was never supposed to become the source of life”

    I know that it isn’t, but there are times when I see myself living like it is…

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Don Avatar
      Don

      There are seasons where we have no choice. But we have to remember that it’s a season and for every season…

      I had the foolish notion that when I got married that my job was to work to provide a living for my bride and myself. I was under the impression that if I just worked hard enough at whatever job I did and gave the company enough of myself that they would take care of me. I worked as hard as I could at my first job. An opening came up for assistant manager. I had the tenure. I knew the job. I was expecting to get the position. My manager hired a friend of his who needed a job with benefits. I left there for another job. I had the same thoughts about work, but I was (more than) a little bitter about my previous job. I worked as hard as I could and took pride in my job. Then I got hurt on the job. They said I was lying and to get back to work. My wife said she wasn’t going to allow me to be treated like that. She asked me to quit. So, I did with the caveat that she give me the time to find a good job. It took a month, but I got a solid job with a big corporation in a position that used my degree. It was salary, but I always put in extra hours. Those extra hours became more and more. It didn’t take long before a short week was eighty hours. Plus, I was also on call constantly since I was also the team lead. I got called on Christmas day two years in a row. I didn’t mind because I just KNEW that the manager position was coming open. When it did, I immediately put my name in for it. I asked for the position explicitly. I was told that the position was not going to be filled.

      I worked that last job for four years. I spent a lot of nights and weekends at work instead of at home with my new bride. I spent more time at work than I did with her. If we ever went on a date it was guaranteed to be interrupted by a call from work that meant I had to head into the office or head home depending on which was closer. There were several nights where my wife would sit in the cubical next to mine waiting on me to get done. I couldn’t even take vacations because I would get several calls a day.

      This was my job. This is how it’s supposed to go. This hard work and sacrifice will eventually pay off. It will all be worth it one day.

      I told myself these and a thousand more lies. The stress from the job and living with the injury from the last job (eleven years living with a dislocated rib) drove me to drinking. I drank constantly when I wasn’t working. There were many occasions that I would still be drunk when I drove to work the next day.

      I finally broke. My pregnant wife was due to be induced. I had scheduled the time off and told people that I wouldn’t be able to answer the phone. We were at the hospital, in the delivery room when my phone rang. It was my boss asking me to come in to fix a big issue. I said I couldn’t because my wife was giving birth. He said it wouldn’t take me very long to fix and he would guarantee that I would be back before the baby was born. I told him I was hanging up.

      It took a few months, but I found another job. It was for more pay and should have been less hours. I was so burned out that I really couldn’t do the job anymore. My body was so bad that my health was in a serious state. My marriage was dangerously close to ending.

      I had to make a change. Oddly, it was just a few months later that the events that caused me to return to church happened. I never questioned His timing. I’ve adjusted my priorities quite a bit since then. Now I know that if my priorities are correct that everything truly will work out. Even if it costs me in the short term.

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. RW - Disciple of Yahshua Avatar
        RW – Disciple of Yahshua

        I have several stories like this as well, 30+ hour shifts straight, missing things for my kids, etc. I have since learned that healthy boundaries are a must and if some place I’m working doesn’t respect proper priorities, then I’m not supposed to be there and Yah will provide. He always has…

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Hello,

Who am I?

I’ve walked a path I didn’t ask for, guided by a God I can’t ignore. I don’t wear titles well—writer, teacher, leader—they fit like borrowed armor. But I know this: I’ve bled truth onto a page, challenged what I was told to swallow, and led only because I refused to follow where I couldn’t see Christ.

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