Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Rest and The Word
We often feel, especially those of us in ministry, as if it’s ok to be “drunk on the cares of this life” if those cares pertain to the work of the Lord. I challenge you today to re-calibrate your knower and consider a much overlooked weapon of warfare in your arsenal: the combination of rest and meditation on the Word.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah, just having conquered Baal’s prophets on the mountain, was on the run and fearful of the king’s wrath. Even though he had just won the Super Bowl of spiritual showdowns, a fatigued Elijah found himself in a very anti-climactic, vulnerable, “out of character” time. This is the same man we Pentecostals like to preach about with the Hammond B3 growling in the background and hankies waving, only now his behavior is not so shout-worthy. But I ask, how many times have YOU messed up when you were tired and weak? Why, Elijah even prayed for God to just let him die! Ever done THAT?
Elijah lie down and fell asleep, and twice the angel of the Lord woke him up and commanded him to rise and eat, and told him that the journey would be too much for him otherwise. Between intermittent doses of rest and the bread of Heaven, he had strength to go 40 more days and nights on his next leg of the journey. We need to be aware of our surroundings at all times and never rely on yesterday’s experiences to be enough to let us coast through today. If you’ve just made a major conquest in the spirit realm, or you have just gone through an extended period of battle, know that you are vulnerable and that it’s time for you to recharge. Don’t wait until sickness or total exhaustion forces you off your feet, because it will often come at the least opportune time. I exhort you to take some time, guilt-free, to go into a different mode of spiritual warfare. Sleep until your body says “enough,” then wake to fill it with the Word. Rest again, and then feast on the Word again…as many times as is necessary, until you’ve heard from the Lord that He’s ready to move you to the frontline again. Perhaps there's even an angel assigned to wake you up once in a while and urge you to “eat!”
If God provides for you a time to rest and come away long enough to be fresh in battle again, you could be walking in outright rebellion and disobedience if you don’t follow His directions. Remember, the most tragic mistakes in the Bible have occurred in times when godly men—leaders, no less—took on too much, worked too long, got too tired, stretched themselves too thin, or got so caught up in their circumstances that they failed to hear the still small voice of the Lord.
Resist the temptation to burn your rest time during this season in worthless pursuits. TVs, computers and sometimes even books and magazines and one more item on the to-do list can take the place of the sleep we need to fight for. These coming days will be for us, like Elijah, time to rest and eat, rest and eat…drawing our strength from the Word until we can pull ourselves together for a long hike to the mountain! Instead of letting us wander alone in the desert full of fear and feeling whipped, God sends the angels right to where we are, and in mercy and compassion He restoreths our soul. Rest, friends, and eat.
Scripture Of The Day: "And He said to them, [As for you] come away by yourselves to a deserted place, and rest a while--for many were [continually] coming and going, and they had not even leisure enough to eat." – Mark 6:31 (AMP)
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