“In the name of Jesus Christ, who was never in a hurry, we pray, O God, that You will slow us down, for we know that we live too fast.”
– Peter Marshall
“Love, joy, and peace are at the heart of all Jesus is trying to grow in your life. And all three are incompatible with hurry.”
– John Mark Comer
“You can be caught up in all your doing for God and miss God in it all.”
– Ben Fitzgerald
“Without rest, we miss the rest of God: the rest he invites us to enter more fully so that we might know him more deeply.”
– Mark Buchanan
“He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.”
Psalm 23:2-3
This past week I was in Colorado, alone, for several days of meetings. Sunday morning I spent two hours at Lake Dillon to rest with God. The elevation at Lake Dillon is 9,000 feet. Although the air at that height is thin, it was clean, crisp; like taking in pure oxygen. Deep breaths were refreshing. The water in the lake was so clear, so clean, so still, that it mirrored the surrounding snow-topped mountains and clouds, as you see in the picture above. No camera could completely capture the peace and magnificence I was immersed in.
My soul settled into rest. As often happens during these solo trips, my heart was exposed; a deep yearning with pain attached came to light. I couldn’t put my finger on it at first, then God showed me that I was starved for peace, rest, beauty, love, life, magnificence, even adventure. The visual tapestry I was feasting on had provoked and brought that yearning to light. It was like being in a church service in the mountains and experiencing worship, a prayer meeting, and a sermon, all at once. We often hear God the best without spoken words.
I invited Him into that place in my core, to touch, heal, and restore. As I prayed, He reminded me of His offer of restoration in the 23rd Psalm. Beautiful, sweet communion. The pain was replaced with peace, contentment. I didn’t want to leave. God made the human soul to exhilarate and thrive in His presence, and He gave us the splendor of creation to reflect His glory and bless the human heart.
Remember how humanity began. Adam and Eve in paradise, walking with God, reveling in His presence. We’ve been screwing the simplicity of this up for centuries. Some will go to war to defend their theological box, but ask them when they last spent two hours alone with God in prayer, and the lights go out.
His heart is for broken, worn out, hurting people is revealed in His invitations to rest and peace in Scripture. “The glory of God is man fully alive” comes to mind. Jesus came to give us abundant life. Would it not glorify Him if we were walking in the joy, peace, power, and life that only comes from enjoying His presence? Silence, where we receive the restoration He offers and hear His voice, is the setting where we receive these blessings.
The tragedy is the many won’t take Him up on His offer.
“Thus says the Lord:
‘Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’’
Jeremiah 6:16
“Sorry, too busy God. Going to church on Sunday (isn’t that enough?) and the rest of my schedule is filled, and, you know, I’m helping out at a ministry too. Oops, a text came in. Hey, they sent me a link to a cool new video on Tiktok by my favorite Bible Teacher.”
“He makes me lie down in green pastures.”
Many are so busy, burnt out, choked, or ensnared in sin and pleasure that God has to make them stop. From personal experience I can tell you the “making” process can involve Him allowing us to run at full speed, face first, into a brick wall, busting up our face in the process. Then we realize that He’s been saying to slow down, stop, and rest with Him for a long time and we’ve been ignoring Him. (Spending 5 hours a day on the smartphone, which is the national average, will do that.)
Resting with God beside still waters and receiving the life-giving restoration He offers is meant to be a consistent part of the Christian life. We need His rest desperately, especially in the chaotic days of crazy we live in.