As Christians, we are commanded to do our best in everything we do. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might".
Working hard for me comes naturally. I don't even have to try. The downside is I find it hard to stop working if I don't see the best output yet. And I’m not just talking about my profession but also in the ministry. This brings me to exhaustion every single time.
Today, in my quiet time, I was reminded of the importance of rest.
God wants us to have rest. God himself even rested according Genesis 2:2-3;
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
In Exodus 20:8-10, rest was also mentioned and commanded;
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.
Even in Matthew 11:28 the Lord said to come to him and he will give rest.
This just proves that resting is not wrong at all. The Bible even encourages rest.
Now, my question is, how do I rest without feeling guilty? For someone like me with a type A personality, I love to be busy. I love doing my best and exceed in everything I do. I love to keep innovating, keep changing things, keep moving. I have many ideas in my head that I feel will go to waste if I don't convert them to reality. I don't want to waste any talent, skill, ideas, or thoughts that God gives me especially if it’s for the ministry. BUT I KNOW, I ALSO NEED REST.
I was directed to Proverbs 30:24-27 and saw these 4 small creatures that were considered in the Bible as exceeding wise and I think are smart workers. Let me share with you what I think of them and what lessons I got from them to help me understand how to work and rest.
They are very small. With their size, it's hard to imagine how they can accomplish big things. But what is great about these small creatures are they prepare. They have a schedule. They store food in summer, they rest and secure themselves during the wet season.
IT'S GOOD TO PREAPARE BUT NOT TO THE POINT OF WORRYING. Planning and preparing will help you assess risks and help you prepare for it. It will help you allocate your resources. But it is also important to know what are the things you can control and what are the things that only God can control. Know when is the right time to go big, know when it's time to rest.
Also called Hyraxes. They are small well-furred animals with short tail. The Bible said they are feeble or weak. They compensate for this by build their houses on rocks to protect themselves.
What can we get out of this? As Christians, part of working smart is acknowledging that we are weak. WE NEED A ROCK - to protect us and to be the foundation of everything we do. May it be your work, your ministry, your relationships. Build it in the Lord so it will be stable and protected. It won't crumble and it won't be a waste of time.
What's interesting about locusts is that they are usually loners. They mind their own businesses. They live a very lonely quiet solitary life. The only time they meet other fellow locust is for mating. But when a situation calls for it, like season for searching for food, they dramatically and drastically change colors and social behavior. They become very friendly, group oriented, and social creatures.
Point is, there are moments we can stand and work alone. But in most circumstance, we need brethren to help us with the ministry, or our workmates to finish a job. If situation calls for it, LEARN TO ADJUST working with other people. Asking and receiving help from others alleviate the pressure, shorten work time, and maybe multiply productivity. This should give you more time to rest.
I found this blog in bible.org entitled Lessons From The Spider. https://blogs.bible.org/lessons-from-the-spider/
Let me read to you a part that captured my heart:
“In my exhaustion I took a trip with friends to a lake house for the Labor Day weekend in hopes of stilling away from the busyness of life for intimacy with the one I knew could restore and rejuvenate me, Jesus Christ.
The first morning I rose early, grabbed my Bible, pen and journal eager to dive into Scripture and work- put to use my bible study methods with pen and pad. Before writing I cried out in desperation, “I am tired and weary, please revive me Lord,” then opened my Bible. Within one minute of reading I looked out and noticed the peacefulness of the lake just yards away the from me, so I closed the Bible and headed down to the dock to experience that serenity the water would hopefully render.
After fighting through a pile of red ants, a swarm of large mosquitos, and numerous spider webs, I finally made it to the edge of the dock to the still quiet body of water. And in the stillness of resting on my knees in a humble posture of prayer I glanced up to see a large spider perched in the center of its web and an abundance of flies and mosquitos caught up in the web. A still small voice captivated my heart with these words, “The spider builds its web right where it is, then climbs into the center to rest and waits for God to bless it.”
The spider builds it's web, climbs in the center of it to rest and wait for God to bless it. After all effort have been exerted, you have done your part, GO BACK TO THE CENTER OF IT ALL.
Working hard is good, but we all need to rest as well. Resting will give you the moment to marvel how God has been wonderfully working in your life. Man, including you, us, may look at quality of the outputs so we can say we have done our best. But God looks at our heart, our intentions. If you have done your part with the right heart, rest my friend. Go back to the center of it all and trust the God sees you - He will bless you, take care of you, He will provide and give the desires of your heart. He will multiply the work of your hand.
