“Rest. Rest. Rest in God’s love. The only work you are required now to do is to give your most intense attention to His still, small voice within.” Madame Jeanne Guyon
Five hundred and eight times rest is mentioned in the NLT version of the Bible, yet it seems to be one of those things that gets pushed off the calendar for “another day” for most of us in ministry. The calendar is always overbooked with appointments, meetings, discipleship and ministry events. The possibilities change day to day and yet the heart of what we do remains the same — loving God loving others.
Being in ministry for almost fifteen years I have learned the hard way how important it is to make time to rest. I have run myself, and at times my family, ragged trying to meet all the demands that come with being in ministry. The cherry on top of all that is that my husband is also in full time ministry–which means, for our family, we both run at full speed all day long for the church and for those placed in our lives..
I absolutely love what I do. I consider it an honor to be used for His Kingdom in any means possible. Naturally I already run at full speed most days. I wouldn’t have it any other way, but in the naivety of my youth while in ministry I neglected to see the importance of making time to rest. So here I am, bumped up, bruised and at times completely worn out. Ministry is tough, people are complicated and it gets messy at time, but when you make time to rest in the midst of your ministry you gain much needed perspective and time to renew.
If you are in ministry, whether at your local church or online, there are always going to be things that need to be done–that’s a given. What my heart is for you today is that you would be in your specific ministry for the long haul. We need women who are passionately pursuing the purpose God has for them. Every single one of us has an important message to share, and unfortunately I’ve witnessed far too many women in ministry that come out of the starting blocks charging full on only to fall out of the race after a few short years because they didn’t make time to rest.
We need you, your family needs you, and the people God has placed around you need you for the long haul. So, let’s get real practical here and talk about how do you know if you have already gone too long without making time to rest.
Signs You’re Past Due For Some Rest
- You are grumpy and or moody
- There is a general irritableness about you
- You get frustrated or offended easily
- It feels like everyone is out to get you
- You feel like you are the only one working hard
- You find it hard to pray for someone who has come to you for prayer
Any or all of these could be a warning sign that you have gone too long without making time to rest. You know how I know? Because I have felt every single one of these things a time or two (or more) in my time in ministry. Um, yes, even as a Pastor’s wife and ministry leader. I’m not proud of it, but if any part of what I have learned can help you as you go on your journey, then it is absolutely worth it.
Guess what happens as a result of any of those things listed above? Your ministry suffers. Your family suffers. Your own personal walk with God gets crowded out because at that point you are no longer listening to His voice but rather your own. It comes down to this, it’s a control issue.
If I can just…
If I would…
When I get this done, then…
I, I, I…me, me, me. What I can do on my own, without leaning on God or listening to what He wants me to do next. When what we really need to do is just lay it all down and give it back to Him. It’s not ours anyways. It’s always been His and to get ourselves back on track there’s a couple of things we can do.
When you see yourself showing some of those signs that you are past due for some rest, here are three things you can do to help get back on track:
1. First thing I do when I can tell that I haven’t made rest a priority is pray.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 ESV
You can’t move forward on your own, so by inviting God to renew your spirit you have just humbled yourself before Him and then and only then, can you start to hear His will more clearly.
2. If you have hurt, offended or snapped at anyone because you’ve gone too long without rest, then stop and take a moment to go to that person and ask for forgiveness. It is not always easy, but it is the right thing to do-for you, for them, and for your ministry.
3. Pull out your calendar, go ahead, grab it now while you are thinking about it, and schedule time to rest. I know, it might sound silly, but we schedule everything else, why not schedule in time to rest.
Rest looks different for different people. Take some time to seek out what kind of rest you need:
- sleep
- a good book
- a day at the spa
- an afternoon out shopping with your friends
- a day where you stay in your PJ’s all day
- or time to workout and have some “you time”
Get it on the calendar now. Start small, but start. Your ministry needs you to make time to rest. You can’t go at full speed all the time in ministry, it’s just not sustainable for the long haul. Let’s look to the only One who lived a perfect life-Jesus. Even He took time to rest, to pull away, to seek solitude and He was Jesus.
Sweet friends, we have a lot of ministry left to do. I can’t wait to share with you next time about some ways to not only rest, but to renew yourself so your ministry can be even better as a result.
Which of those signs that you are past due to rest resonated the most with you?
What does rest look like for you?
You are doing a great work, but don’t forget that He is still doing a great work in you too. Make time to rest and your ministry will be all the better for it. Oh yeah, there will still be stuff to do, things left uncrossed off your to-do list, but girl, this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon and God has so much more in store for you.
