Isaiah 30:15
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
In quietness and trust is your strength,
But you would have none of it.”
In another version:
“This is what Adonai Elohim, the Holy One of Israel says:
Returning and resting is what will save you;
Calmness and confidence will make you strong – but you want none of this!”
An excerpt from “The Rest of God” by Mark Buchanan:
“If only I could get away is our mantra. Then I would be safe. Then I could enjoy my life. …”God’s solution is surprising. He offers rest. But it’s a unique form of rest. It’s to rest in the midst of our threats and our burdens. It’s discovering, as David did in seasons of distress, that God is our rock and refuge right in the thick of our situation.”
“God, in other words, offers something better than our fantasy: he offers himself. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28 NASB)
“The argument of this book is that we uniquely take up his invitation by keeping Sabbath, both as a day and as an attitude. Those who remember the Sabbath and keep it holy don’t need an idyll.” …
“But let me return to work. In order to keep the Sabbath well – to embrace the rest of God – we need a right view of work. Without a rich theology of labor, we’ll have an impoverished theology of rest. We’ll find that both are hectic, sporadic, chaotic. We’ll find no joy in either.”
“I talked recently with a retired pastor who had served in various churches for forty-six years. For the past three he’d been retired.”
“What are you up to these days?” I asked him.
“Not much”, he said. “I’m still recovering.”
“Oh. Did you have an accident, or surgery, or…?”
“No. I mean recovering from ministry. I guess I never learned how to let things go. I carried the church’s problems always, everywhere. I got so bottle up with it. They I’d go on vacation and fall to pieces. It was like lapsing into a coma, or trying to break a drug addiction. I got sick. I wasn’t able to sleep, or I couldn’t wake up. I got angry and depressed. I withdrew. Coming back, I was almost paralyzed. I begged God to let me go, let me do anything else but this. Only I had no motivation for anything. I’m still getting over that.”
Do you feel overwhelmed with the demands of your life? Your ministry?
When is the last time you had time away? Was it enough?
Villa Sollievo 