Elijah House
The Power of the Cross
Through the Spirit and the Word
Working to Heal and Restore Families
www.elijahhouse.org
On Coming Into Rest Part 2
by Terry Thomas
Our culture teaches that action and accomplishment are better than rest, that doing something, anything, is better than doing nothing. Because of our desire to succeed, to meet these ever-growing expectations, we do not rest. Because we do not rest, we lose our way. We bypass the nourishment and wisdom the quiet would give us. We miss the joy and love born of effortless delight.We are seduced by the desire for and the promises of MORE; more money, recognition, satisfaction, security, material goods, and on and on. Even for Christians, more ministry, more gifts, notoriety, fame, being 'in the know,' familiar with the 'big names.' The busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and--we imagine--to others.
The Chinese pictograph for 'busy' is composed of two characters: heart and killing.
We are in a hurry. Quick, now, instant fix. We have no patience for struggle, pain, discomfort and waiting. In the soil of the quick fix are seeds of new problems. We lose our ability to face life and truth. We avoidä.with busyness. How have we allowed this to happen?
How did we get so terribly lost in a world saturated with striving and grasping, bereft of joy and delight?
To a great extent it is because we have forgotten and neglected the Sabbath. Without rest, we respond from a survival mode. Sabbath time can be a revolutionary challenge to the violence of overwork, mindless accumulation and the endless multiplication of desires, responsibilities and accomplishments. Sabbath is a way of stopping in time to remember who we are, what we know, and again taste the fruits of spirit and life.
Where have we Christians come up with this idea that we are required to be right and good and perfect before we can be loved? Well, of course it comes from our society, culture, parents and churches. We have believed it. If, however, this is true, then God does not love His children unconditionally and He has lied to us in His Word, and His character is not love and there is something that can separate us from His love: our imperfections, our 'badness,' our mistakes and ignorance and selfishness and sin. But this is not true! These do not separate us from His love, though if we believe that they do, we become unable, because of unbelief, to receive His love and live as beloved.
Scripture tells us the reason we love God is because He loved us first. The reason He loves us is because He chooses to. It is His will and character to love. When we work to be good and right and knowledgeable in order to be loved, then we can never trust in the love we receive, because in our eyes it is conditional on our continuing to work, continuing to hide the parts of ourselves that are afraid and lazy, dishonest and sinful, bad and unlovable. So we have to keep working harder to show ourselves to be perfect and 'Christian.'
Ephesians 1 tells us that we are righteous before Him in love. Before God the Father we stand in Christ, who is love, and are in Him righteous and holy. We work so hard to become what we already are, to gain what we already possess!
We can argue that we know all of this, we have prayed to be healed. So, are you healed? Have you come into rest? Do you feel joy and peace, knowing love and acceptance? Are you able to rest in the truth that being loved, chosen and accepted does not depend on your being good? Have you come to a place where you do not care about what others think of you, where you don't have to dress, speak, shop, decorate, read the right translation, know the big prophets in order to gain approval or a place to belong? Are you in a place where you are not caught up in the seductive lies, the instant fix, the hurry and the longing for more and better and bigger, the pressures of the world?
We are His children, made in His image. We are His voice, hands, and means of love to His beloved church, to the lost and hungry, the blind and deaf. All this is to be at rest. Somewhere along the way it is vital that we come to rest with who we are and with who God is. God is at rest with us. He created us, said it is good and rested from His work. He is at rest with our strengths and weaknesses, our rightness and mistakes, our wisdom and ignorance. He knows.
One reason we often need to stop, rest and be still is in order to keep this straight. He is the healer, the fixer of people and churches and nations. He is wisdom and life. We mirror Him, but we are not Him. It is His job! Our job is to keep our hand in His, rest in Him and in who we are in Him, to do the good works we were created to do out of this position of resting in Him and in who we are in Him.
Next month we will look at how our culture prevents resting.
Terry Thomas joined Elijah House with a background in education in public and Christian schools, and nine years of private and church counseling practice. She leads seminars and retreats focusing on our Christian journey toward wholeness. She ministers within a wide variety of groups on topics relating to inner transformation. Terry enjoys spending quiet time beside a river or leaning on a large tree writing poetry. She finds refreshment in her flower garden, getting together with friends, eating, talking, fishing, playing, and long walks holding hands and talking with Elton Thomas, her husband.
Terry received her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Eastern Oregon State College and her Master of Education in private and school-based counseling. She now lives in Wenatchee, Washington, counseling and teaching regularly in our Elijah House schools and seminars.
For more information about Elijah House...
Phone: (208) 773-1645; Fax: (208) 773-1647
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM pacific standard time, Mon-Fri.
General Email: ehinfo@elijahhouse.org
Elijah House
17397 W Laura Ln
Post Falls, ID, USA 83854
208-773-1645
fax 208-773-1647
http://www.elijahhouse.org
