By: Lincoln Li, Flemingdon Park | Outreach worker
What does rest look like to you? Is it taking a day off to sleep in? To go on a nice vacation? Is it spending time with friends or loved ones? For me, I thought those were the things that would give me rest in preparation for me to go back into work afresh and renewed. However, I’d still feel exhausted after all that. I am physically rested, but why do I still feel so tired?
What about spiritual rest? Have you rested enough spiritually?
Before I share about my experience, let’s talk about Spiritual Pathways really quickly. It’s the different ways you may be connecting with God. There are a total of 9 pathways. To find out which ones are yours, here’s a questionnaire to find out which pathways you use to connect with God!
The month of September has been surprisingly busy. In the beginning, I thought it would be a straightforward month with the usual kids and youth hangouts. However, turns out there were many social gatherings from meeting different people, to church sharings on top of the afterschool programming. I felt exhausted. It was also not very helpful that the upcoming school year seemed everso daunting since everything was up in the air (no thanks to COVID). Before I knew it, I felt as though I was on autopilot -going through the motions without really being aware of God in the process. Things that once brought joy, brought distress. Meaningful interactions became a chore. Slowly, I felt as though I was burning out. I tried exercising more and sleeping more, but I felt empty.
We have designated rest and reflection weeks at work, though for me, there was little time to rest due to a backlog of tasks that needed to be done. Still, at least I found peace and stillness during those 45 mins of doing the reflection exercises. God revealed to me the importance of rest. That it’s not just about the fun activities I get to do on a day off, but rather setting aside some quiet time to spend with Him. Whether it was continuing to venture through with the Old Testament reading, journaling, praying, or reading a Christian book (currently chipping away at Case for Faith), it was very peaceful and spirit filling. The reflection exercises also brought about the importance of continually setting aside time to rest in God as something that is part of your day, month, and year. How I interpreted this was carving out time (about an hour) daily, setting aside a day of rest (once a month), and planning a retreat once a year. This intentional aspect of resting also tied in with Spiritual Pathways -one’s most natural way of connecting with God. Mine just so happens to be reading, watching sermons, and listening to podcasts.
By resting in God, I can refocus on where He is in my life and ministry. By resting in God, I can receive His love and also give it more freely and intentionally in areas of ministry, relationships, etc. As hectic seasons wind down and a new one begins, it is important for me to take time to rest in God’s presence because this year is full of unknowns, which can be emotionally, spiritually, and mentally draining. That is why rest, at least for me, is the thing to remember during this time of ministry.
If you are interested in learning more about resting and slowing down, here are two exercises that helped me.
Exercise #1- A time of reflection
What exhausts you or keeps you working past your limits?
When and where do you most deeply rest? Who helps you rest?
What is it like for you to set aside time to play? How regular and inviolable is that time?
Action item: Write down what a perfect day of rest and recreation would look like to you. Is it within the realm of possibility? Plan when you can take this day or a version of it.
Note: Taken from Spiritual Disciplines Handbook by A.A. Calhoun
Exercise #2 - A time for application
Watch this clip and download this Rule of Life worksheet (pg. 10 graphic organizer)
Fill in the Prayer box with things you can do during your carved out time with God - prayer postures, praying scripture, daily devotionals, Bible study, silence and solitude etc.
Fill in the Rest box with what you can do to rest each day, each week, each month, and each year.
Fill in the Work box with the commitments you have at work, church, and with family.
Fill in the Relationship box with what time you want to carve out for the people in your life.