Life is often full of constant activity, consistent pain, and confusing issues. And frankly, there's quite a bit of pressure that goes along with all these situations.
If nothing else, we can simply end up feeling "busy, busy, busy!" on a constant basis. All of this is why it's so important to have a place of spiritual retreat and rest, a time of recovery and restoring the soul's batteries.
God gave us such a place. It's called church.
God gave us the time, too. It's known as worship time.
We just need to make sure that we don't allow ourselves to feel so pressured, or become so "busy, busy, busy", that we lose track of our need for recovery and restoration.
Remember, Jesus came to be our rest. When we find him and focus on him in our worship life, we benefit from that rest. He brings forgiveness, grace, mercy, peace and joy to our restless souls. He relieves us of the relentless pressures, the tiresome troubles, and the constant dull ache of our guilt and shame. He carries away the taxing burden of our sins.
As one famous author put it about a quarter of a century ago, we can be the "saw blade" that just keeps on cutting and cutting and cutting, but never gets sharpened. Eventually that saw gets dull and it becomes difficult to be productive with it.
Or we can, as God hopes we will, find time to sharpen the saw. The Psalmist points out that those people who take time for spiritual recovery will be "blessed, blessed, blessed." He promises that they will find their strength in God, and go "from strength to strength."
They stay sharp. They remain resilient.
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion (Psalm 84:1-7, NIV).
Our Bible reading for Sunday, July 12, is 2 Kings 23:1 - 24:7, Romans 1:1-17 and Psalm 84:1-7.
Lord, I love my worship time each week when I attend church. I love my daily worship time when I sit with my Bible in prayer and listen to your voice. These are key times for me to rest and restore my spiritual batteries. Help me to repent of the temptation I sometimes have to forgo these times. Help me by your Spirit's power to know the blessing of worship, and grant me the resilience you promise when I plug into your word and sacraments to get recharged.
Header image based on "Portrait of a Saw Blade" by Christopher Sessums, CC By-SA 2.0