«Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls» (Matthew 11:29).
A few months ago, I got the flu. I called my employer in the morning and told him I couldn’t go to work. Afterwards, I spent the day sleeping. I must be honest: although I felt terribly ill, I was happy; I could finally rest without feeling guilty!
We are proud to be busy: it makes us feel useful and successful, but there is great latent danger. When our self-esteem is too tied up to our productivity, we feel guilty if we rest. As writer Alex Soojung-Kim Pang said in Rest: Produce More by Working Less: «If your identity is your job, when you stop working, you cease to exist.» Without the fig leaves of our work, we feel naked and vulnerable.
In his book In Praise of Slowness, Carl Honoré reminded us that «when people complain: ‘I’m so busy. . . I don’t stop running. My life is a whirlwind; I don’t have time for anything,’ what they usually mean is, ‘Look at me! I’m so important, entertaining, and energetic . . .». From this point of view, resting is a true act of humility. To rest is to confess, «I am a finite being; I can’t do everything. I am not God.»
If you’re like me, nothing will be more difficult for you than resting. You feel overwhelmed, but it seems that stopping you would be impossible. I’m sure you have hundreds of reasons why you «can’t stop.» Your children and your husband need you, you’re working to advance God’s cause, and if you don’t try hard, you’ll never have enough money to buy your own home. Even if all this is true, pride is often the fundamental reason: our desire to feel indispensable.
In Spiritually Disorganized, Christian author Michael Yaconelli explained it in the following way: «Rest is humiliating because, in order to rest, we must admit that we are not necessary, that the world can continue to rotate without us, that God’s work does not depend on us.» Resting is a matter of humility and identity. If we know we are loved unconditionally by God, we will be much more willing to stop and rest. God asks us to rest so that we may remember the difference between what we do and who we are.
Dear Lord, we all like to feel useful, but sometimes I want to feel indispensable.
Remind me that rest is a matter of identity.
Remind me that because You love me unconditionally, I am no longer a slave to productivity.
As a disciple of Christ, I receive the gift of rest.
#WomensDevotional
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Take From: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2022
«NO FEARS»
BY: VANEZA PISSUTO
Collaborators: Alexandra Pérez & Angelica Cuate.
