Incapable of "Sabbath-ing"?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a type A list-maker and I spend my days cramming in as much as possible, flying from task-to-task, until I fall into bed exhausted at the close of every day. Well here's my confession....


I'm starting to wear out.


It seems to be no coincidence that the Lord has been bringing my path upon much literature and teaching about rest lately. I recently read Timothy Keller's "Counterfeit Gods" , through which God revealed my idolatry of productivity. I didn't even know that was an idol. Guess my heart will just take anything good and twist it into wickedness. 


The idea of Sabbath was brought to my mind a lot over the last couple of months, and I'm happy to say that Jeremy and I had a very nice time of rest visiting family for the holidays. I returned to Denton ready to hit the ground running, only to discover that my tiredness quickly returned. Problem is, I'm WAY too busy with WAY too many things on my plate to even take Sunday to rest! I mean, that's laundry/grocery shopping/cleaning day! Right? Wrong. There's that tricky little idol of mine peaking out of my heart again, revealing that this is going to be a tough struggle for me. 


The Bible blatantly COMMANDS us to take a Sabbath EVERY WEEK (not just on holidays, as I try to talk myself into) to rest. I mean, it's right there in the ten commandments - on the stone tablets and everything!

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 

but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God."

Exodus 20:8-10

Matt spoke about Sabbath as part of his message this week, and to be honest it was both energizing and discouraging. Energizing because the Lord has provided us with a day of rest, recharging and rich time with family and friends. Discouraging because I've never seemed to be able to really rest. My mind makes lists of tasks, my body can't relax if there's laundry or dishes to be done. I haven't realized how much of a SIN this is until now, when the Lord is revealing it to my heart through many channels. This was my mom's latest blog, that I just so happened to read today:

Here’s my most recent Google search: “Can a dog be hyperactive?” (In case you’re interested, the answer is “yes.”) Well, I’m convinced the puppy my son Mark adopted from a local shelter has a serious case.

Remi is an eleven pound, mixed breed blend of constant motion. He never walks anywhere. He reminds me of the little ball in a pinball machine. Ding, he’s off this direction and then ding, like a shot he’s off in a completely different direction. Even during the brief moments he is standing in one spot his little head jumps this way and that determining his next catapult.

Mark has had some success in training Remi. He finally got the potty thing down. Hallelujah! And he can “sit.” Be it ever so briefly. They’re working on “come.” That’s proving to be a challenge. But the one command meeting the most resistance is “stay.”

The other day I lent a hand while Mark attempted to impress Remi with the concept. Mark held the tennis ball and told Remi to “sit,” which he did. Mark told Remi to “stay” and then threw the ball. Ha! My job became holding Remi in the sitting position until Mark said “go.” All I have to say about the experience is it’s a really good thing the dog only weighs eleven pounds.

Hyperactive Remi reminds me a bit of my relationship with God. I find it much easier to go and do tasks God gives me than to sit quietly at His feet. Prolonged periods of listening, praying and simply sitting in His presence are hard-learned disciplines. I know that God not only wants me to be still, I am also missing out on blessings I can’t experience any other way. Last year I stenciled this verse on the wall of my home office:

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

This year I just want to do it. What about you? Do you have trouble sitting still before God?

God went straight for my heart. So I need help resting. Ask me if I'm resting. Tell me that it's OK to rest (and I'm praying now that I'll believe you when you tell me that). I'm a marathoner trying to sprint the whole way, and I want to slow down and finish the race well.