Lesson 6

Lesson 6: "Balance is important – you need times of rest, stillness, silence and solitude to remain in the race"

Genesis records that after God had finished creating the world, he rested on the seventh day. This wasn’t because he’d tired himself out, but to set an example of rest for us. This example was later formalised in the commandments as the Sabbath – a day of rest/non-work that was kept holy for God.

John 4:6 records, “…and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well”. Tony Horsfall uses this verse as the basis for his book ‘Working from a place of rest’, acknowledging that Jesus got tired like us, and pointing out that this verse gives us ‘permission’ to rest along our life journey.

I remember a colleague in Kenya preaching at morning devotions about the pattern of work and rest that is (hopefully) established in our lives: a night’s rest at the end of the working day; a weekend’s rest at the end of the working week, and longer periods of holiday (originally ‘holy days’) during the year. If we are only about the work, we won’t last – and we are unlikely to give God sufficient space in our lives.

‘Vegging’ in front of the TV or hanging out with family or friends, although not bad things in themselves, are not what I’m talking about. To really connect with God in your rest, you need times of ‘stillness, silence and solitude’. Elijah discovered that God was in the ‘still, small voice’, but to hear the still small voice you need to be still and quiet yourself, and in a place without distractions. In Matthew, Jesus talks about ‘going into your closet and shutting the door’ to pray.

In this world of many and varied demands on our time and energy, I think it’s good to be very deliberate about making sure these times of quiet rest happen. Are you intentional about spending quality time with God, away from it all? Do you regularly ‘go into your closet’, or periodically take retreat days just to be with God and give Him time and space to speak to you? Why not think about scheduling something like that right now?