Readings for today: 1 Chronicles 6, Psalms 36, 39, 77, 78
Some days I don’t feel like I have much to offer. My brain feels fried. My thoughts scattered and unfocused. I don’t feel spiritual at all. The words just won’t come. I am tired and weary. The strain of the season is getting to me. I’m mentally and emotionally drained. Anyone else relate? Sure you can. Life is like that sometimes. It’s not a condition to avoid. It doesn’t mean I’ve failed. It simply means I’m human and need time to rest. Restore. Renew. Just like everyone else. None of us is a machine. None of us are made to run 24/7. Part of what I’m learning in this season is to embrace the slower pace. The inactivity. The lack of production. But that’s hard for me. It cuts against my grain. It pushes back against my naturally activist nature. What I’m learning is how to rest. Rest physically. Rest mentally. Rest emotionally. Rest spiritually. As I lay down my own burdens, I am also learning to pick up the burdens of others. Those less fortunate than me. Those less privileged than me. Because of my relative wealth and position, I have the luxury of rest. Many of my friends around the world do not. So I find myself praying more regularly and fervently. Reaching out to my friends to find out how they are doing. Sacrificially sharing my own resources to help alleviate suffering where I am able. Ultimately, this time is teaching me yet another lesson that life is not about me. It’s not about my needs and my wants and my comfort and my safety. It’s about finding my rest in the Lord and helping others do the same.
“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O Lord. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. There the evildoers lie fallen; they are thrust down, unable to rise.” (Psalm 36:5-12)