Lately, I’ve been in a season of slowing down, resting, and trusting that God has a plan (a good plan). I’m thankful for the encouraging words of other authors, one of whom is Lucinda Secrest McDowell. Lucinda has a beautiful new book called Dwelling Places, and she agreed to provide the following excerpt as a guest post. I’ve had the great fortune of being in one of Lucinda’s classes, and I can tell you she is a wonderful lady with a powerful message. I’m sure her post will resonate with you as much as it did with me.
Driving through Pebble Hill Plantation I saw the road sign that caused me to grind to a halt.
“Slow Down. I Mean It!”
And Pansy Poe, the owner of this beautiful estate outside my Georgia hometown, had signed her name to give it more authority.
Actually, God could have authored that sign as well.
I believe He sends signs warning me to “Slow Down” all the time, but I’m usually running by too quickly to notice. Missing what God has for me – “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” (Isaiah 32.18)
Or, as one seasoned pastor advises, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry.”
When was the last time you really rested? Hard to do, isn’t it? Our environment is constantly depleting us with noise, distractions and the compulsion to always be in a hurry. We are just too busy to rest.
“Busyness does not mean you are a faithful or fruitful Christian. It only means that you are busy, just like everyone else,” claims Kevin DeYoung, a pastor and father of six who struggles with finding true rest. “It’s not wrong to be tired. It’s not wrong to feel overwhelmed. It’s not wrong to go through seasons of complete chaos. What is wrong – and heartbreakingly foolish and wonderfully avoidable – is to live a life with more craziness than we want because we have less Jesus than we need.”
Do you want more of Jesus and His rest?
I believe our greatest threat is distraction. Did you know the root of this word is the Latin word distractus which literally means “to draw or pull apart?” No wonder we feel torn in every direction!
The author of “Sanctuary of the Soul” says that we have noisy hearts. “The fact that our schedules are piled high and we are constantly bombarded by multiple stimuli only betrays that we have succumbed to the modern mania that keeps us perpetually distracted. The moment we seek to enter the creative silences of meditative prayer, every demand screams for our attention.”
How can we quiet our hearts and discover these “undisturbed places of rest?”
Unplug. Sign out. Turn off. Hang up. Be ‘Closed for the Weekend.’ Clean up your surroundings so fewer projects call out your name. Put sleep and ‘nothing’ on your agenda and then keep those appointments. Determine your greatest distractions and energy-drainers and decide to be proactive about curbing their power over you.
And then go to Jesus and rest in His care. “Faith means resting – relying – not on who we are, or what we can do, or how we feel or what we know. Faith is resting in who God is and what He has done. And He has done everything.”
Slow Down. I Mean It!
Lucinda Secrest McDowell is passionate about embracing life — both through deep soul care from drawing closer to God, as well as living courageously in order to touch a needy world. A storyteller who engages both heart and mind, she offers “Encouraging Words” to all on the journey. A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Furman University, Cindy is the author of twelve books, including Dwelling Places, Live These Words, Refresh!, Amazed by Grace, Quilts from Heaven and Role of a Lifetime. Whether co-directing the “New England Christian Writers Retreat,” mentoring young moms, or leading a restorative day of prayer, she is energized by investing in people of all ages. Cindy’s favorites include tea parties, good books, laughing friends, ancient prayers, country music, cozy quilts, musical theatre, and especially her family scattered around the world doing amazing things. She writes from “Sunnyside” cottage in New England and blogs weekly at EncouragingWords.net
Love this!! How much I need Jesus and His rest more than I need to get my own way!
Thanks, Kristen! You hit the nail on the head: we need Jesus more than we need our way. Have a restful week.
Thank you, Ashley and Lucinda. It is wonderful to know that we can live in rest, relying on His unfailing love. Blessings to both of you!
Thanks, Tami! Isn’t it wonderful that we don’t serve an unrelenting task master? We are so fortunate.
Thanks so much Ashley for posting my guest blog. I am “preaching to myself” as well. Have a restful summer!
It was my pleasure, Lucinda! I hope this summer brings you lots of peace, rest, and joy.
Beautiful and timely reminder for my heart, Ashley and Lucinda. Thank you for sharing and giving me courage to unplug from the world and plug in to Jesus! : )
Thank you, Crystal! That’s a great way to put it: unplug from the world and plug into Jesus. 🙂