I’m not very good at relaxing. I’ve been prone to worry since I was very small and doing helped me avoid the torture of my harried thoughts. Oh boy do I have stories to tell. For much of my life even relaxing required some form of doing, which usually meant some form of learning. I couldn’t just veg and watch TV. I had to watch the Food Network or something educational that would teach me something. I needed to be productive, even during downtime. My mind was always moving. No wonder my body revolted in different seasons (another story for another blog post), demanding rest and time to recharge.
In the silence and stillness before God, I have found my first true dose of rest and relaxation. Better than a foot massage or a mani/pedi, I have found the rest my body, soul and spirit needs. In the quiet, my heart calms down and I hear God’s voice. I stop talking so much and start listening more. I’m loved and accepted. It isn’t easy because I want to do, do, do to feel valuable. Yet, He is at work when I am not. God is the one in charge. He has been speaking all along. I just didn’t know how to listen well. I’ve had all the longing in my heart to know Him more. I’ve had lots of willingness, determination, perseverance to try to know Him more without the understanding that it is in the resting and “relaxing” in His presence, not in sheer force, that I find Him. It’s taking a moment of silence, not constant activity, that brings me to know Him and His word more.
Are you taking time to quiet yourself before God? Are you resting in His presence? I want to encourage you to be silent before God for just a couple minutes today.
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. -Psalm 62:5
The exact lesson God has been, rather painfully, but beautifully teaching me the last two years. It is a whole new season!
Yes, it is an important lesson. I think it may be one I have to learn and re-learn for the rest of my life!
Love this! So true!