It was a grueling ministry season. God opened the door and strengthened me to preach or teach 16 times in the span of a little over the past two weeks. Part of that included a preaching trip to Lubbock. Add to that the other preaching and teaching times through the summer until yesterday afternoon it all caught up with me. The traveling. The constant prayer for the next message. The passion for the lake baptisms. After lunch yesterday, I needed a nap.
I thought about Ps 23:2-3, "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads beside still waters. He restores my soul and guides me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake."
The human body was not designed to live in the fast lane perpetually. God created us to need sleep. We cannot function without it. It is the constant reminder that we are not God because He never gets tired nor sleeps. We may go hard for several days, weeks, or even months. There will come a time when the body needs to recover.
We see same the principle in other areas. Cattle horses cannot go hard every single day. They have to recover at some point. You cannot run a machine at maximum RPMs long before it malfunctions. The same is true for the human body. God made me lie down for a nap. Friends wanted us to go to Amarillo for lunch, which would have meant an extra hour driving time there and back for us. We had to decline. A nap did more for me than I can put into words. It refreshed, revived, and reenergized me for two more times of teaching to round out the day.
This is exactly why God created the Sabbath. A day for rest and worship. It was meant to be a day to rest and recover before starting another week of work. The Sabbath day is regularly broken. Some have no choice because of work schedules. Others fill the day with recreational activities, kids ball games, work around the house, and many other things besides worship. Do this long enough and it will compromise spiritual, emotional, and physical health.
The NASU translation of Ps 23:2 uses the phrase, "He makes me lie down." God has His ways to get us to slow down. To recuperate. Some people feel guilty for resting. Like constantly being busy is a bade of honor. The Bible certainly speaks against laziness in the book of Proverbs. It also speaks to resting. There must be balance. In extreme cases, I've seen people hospitalized which forced them to rest.
I actually felt convicted that we were planning too many things for the church. We canceled two events for this month. I could tell people were tired. They needed a break. Brenda and I needed a break. It was a fast paced summer with things happening nearly every week. Once this past Sunday ended, it signaled the end of the summer season and the ramping up of the fall season with back to school and all that comes with it. Other days of rest will be needed. The rest refuels us to be even more productive. LET'S GO!