Time to Rest or Keep Going?

This has been quite a week for me! It has held a lot of excitement, both good and bad. Both suck the energy right out of me, but I am a driven individual. I have hopes and dreams - goals that I want to meet. I have my eyes set on what lies before me. Whether it is a short or a long term goal, I keep pushing on.

I came to a realization this week. I learned that I really thrive on "the chase." I'd never really thought about what that means. But as I was challenged to think about it, I realized just how true it really is. I thrive on goals - especially larger goals that stretch me. I get excited when I start to see progress. An outright accomplishment is even more fun.

I also realized that there is a certain "let down" period that follows a "chase." If you have ever participated in something big, something you have had to work your way up to, then met the goal, you know what I am talking about. After traveling with my daughter for 100 days this summer, there was a period of let down for me. It was a much bigger time than I expected. It was close to a full two weeks of rest that was needed and an even greater period of adjustment that followed.

As I began to reflect on all of this, I started thinking about what the Bible has to say about rest. First, I was impressed that it is mentioned well over 500 times! We have barely gotten into the Word before we see it for the first time. Genesis chapter 2 tells us that God finished His creation, He blessed it, and He rested! Is it a coincidence that we were gone 100 days, which is divisible by seven 14 times and we needed to rest approximately 14 days? Somehow, I don't think so. We took that day each week, but it is interesting that the rest we needed was really equivalent to one day for each week we were gone.

A couple of my other favorite Scriptures on this topic are Psalm 127 - where it tells us that God gives rest to His loved ones - we don't need to be anxious or work so hard that we don't rest. He will take care of us. And the other is in Matthew 11:28 where Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Throughout my times of staying focus and being driven to meet a goal, I find it increasingly important to find time to spend alone with God - a time to talk with Him - to learn more about Him - to develop a trust and faith relationship with Him. As I do that, I feel the excitement & the anxiety start to subside. I begin to rest in Him. I trust in His everlasting love. 

There will always be deadlines, goals, and emotional ups and downs, but there will never be a time so sweet as the time we take to rest in the Lord. Somehow, when I rest in Him, I experience a joy. a peace and a calm that cannot be experienced in any other way. What about you? Will you take time to rest? Or will you just keep going?