Do you ever feel like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Or that if you stop and breathe for just a few moments that the world will stop revolving?
I’m learning that life will go on if we stop and relax. We do deserve to rest. We are not robots or any other kind of machine, we are humans. In fact, if we don’t rest, then we are only making matters worse. And because we choose not to rest, we aren’t able to function at your highest level and essentially cheating the world because we are offering it lesser versions of ourselves. We need to give ourselves more grace.
I know that I cannot solve all the problems in the world, so why do I try? I spend far too much time worrying about what other people think or if they even care. Trying to solve all the problems in the world is exhausting and a weight that I am (we are) not designed to carry.
This dilemma I often find myself in reminds me of the story of Mary and Martha which can be found in Luke 10:38-42:
“38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus[d] entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary.[e] Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
There are a few things that I’d like to touch on from this passage.
– One: I spent years of my Christian life as a Martha. Instead of focusing on sitting with the Lord and resting in His presence, I tried to get to know Him through service. I tried to obey through my actions and lip service all the while keeping my heart a good distance away with many walls up guarding it. I hardly ever allowed Him to teach me. Sitting in stillness was very uncomfortable (and still is if I’m being honest), because that meant that I had to own my stuff and deal with it. Staying busy meant I could avoid things and continue pretending that everyone was “peachy”.
– Two: Anxiousness (and Anger) are root causes of Control Issues. Here we see that Martha was anxious, and that was because she was trying to control her sister and please the Lord through her actions. This too is a lesson that I am currently in the middle of trying to navigate that I am hoping to have some more revelation and freedom in soon.
– Three: This passage gives me great comfort that I can just sit and rest at the feet of Jesus, and in fact, that is what the Lord desires of me. I do not have to try to do all the things. I do not have to try to please everyone. I can simply sit and be.
So, the next time you think “I ain’t got no time to rest”, I would like for you to recall all that you just read, or at least the parts that resonated with you. I promise you, the world will not fall apart if you take a 10 minute break to sit and re-center yourself. Below is an exercise you can choose to do in order to help apply this to your life.
Challenge: Take a deep breathe. Exhale. Now do it again a few more times. Do you feel that? Hopefully you felt peace, freedom, and/or relief. Now, simply open your spirit and invite the Lord to come and sit with you. It may feel uncomfortable at first, especially if you’ve not done this before. Ask the Lord to speak to you. I can guarantee you that He has things He would like to speak to you about, but maybe you keep avoiding what He has to say. The Lord is gentle and will not force Himself on you… you have to choose to welcome Him in.
If you did that and would like to discuss it further, then leave a comment/send me a message/call me. I desire to hear from you and walk along side you of this journey called life.
Living Lighter in Christ,
Misha
