Just Rest

Have you ever had someone ask you how you were and your response was, “I’m busy.  Good, but busy.”   or something along those lines?  We fill our schedules and spend every waking hour doing things to the point of feeling like there is not enough time in the day.  For many of us, from the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep, we spend so much of our time going and doing that we rarely have time for just being.  Jesus calls us to come to Him and rest. 
 
I don’t know about you, but when I find myself in a season of busyness, my prayer life is the first thing to go.  Wake up, go to work, come home, go to any meetings, events or other commitments we have, make and eat dinner, do a few miscellaneous things, get ready for bed.  Maybe you say a quick prayer to thank God for the day or read a brief reflection.  With the exhaustion and tiredness the day brings, it’s easy for Jesus to be pushed to the side, our efforts lacking.  We can quickly find ourselves trapped in this cycle.  Why is it so easy to find time to open up Facebook or Instagram but more difficult to open up scripture or a prayer journal?  Why do we have the time to see what everyone on Twitter is saying but no time to hear what Christ is saying?

I think we often find ourselves so tired from our regular, daily routines that we forget how much we really need Jesus.  Scrolling endlessly through social media after a long day at work seems so relaxing.  It is that never-ending scrolling and searching that we can find ourselves more exhausted and restless.  It leaves us unsatisfied and wanting more.  Social media can definitely be used for good.  We can use it to stay connected with family and friends, watch videos on topics of our faith, read reflections and find inspiration, and much more.  Social media does not have to be something that hinders our faith.  It can be something that helps.  Social media, Netflix, or whatever other things take up our time are not bad.  However, the key is to remember and know that we need Jesus always and especially in the midst of our busyness, exhaustion, and restlessness.  He alone can give us the rest we so desperately need.

In the times where we find ourselves too busy and needing rest, may our prayer be:
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Jesus, it is only you who can give us the rest we need.  Help us to take time to be still so that we can listen to your voice.  Allow us to hear you amid the busy, loud, and quickly moving world around us.  As we fill our days with activities and commitments, may we do it all for your glory and to make you known.  Give us the desire to take time for silence and stillness.  Take our restless hearts and set them on fire for you.  Amen.