Would You Rest if Your Life Depended on It?

by Matthew Dennis

When the pandemic hit our shores, my life was forced to slow down. As someone in ministry, slowing down can be incredibly challenging for me. Pastors tend to be terrible at the spiritual discipline of rest. In general, American culture is fast-paced and busy. Many of us like being in the hustle and bustle and tend to place our identity in what we do, rather than in who God says we are. Because of this, slowing down can be incredibly frightening.

Why is this? Peter Scazzero states, in The Emotionally Healthy Leader, that everyone has a shadow, and this shadow is defined as the “accumulation of untamed emotions, less-thanpure motives, and thoughts that, while largely unconscious, strongly influence and shape your behaviors. It is the damaged but mostly hidden version of who you are” (page 55). When the world slowed down, I found myself changing on the inside as the business that once drowned out my inner man was no longer there. God began revealing wounds He wanted to heal, as well as areas in my life where I was getting a false sense of security and identity. He wanted to replace those areas with Himself as the source of my self-worth.

Likewise, in the quiet place, God will reveal to you what motivates you. After that, He will begin cutting things out of you; and like surgery, the cutting and healing will hurt because there is a process and recovery time. However, if that surgery is not done, our shadows will slowly kill us on the inside. Many of us will wake up one day and have to face the man or woman we could have been if only we had stepped into everything God had planned for us.

Isaiah 30:15 tells us, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.’” That last line has been incredibly convicting for me. Are we willing to put away our facades? Would we rest if we believed our lives depended on it? The good news is that although slowing down can be scary, God has so much better that He wants to give to you. As a good, perfect

Heavenly Father, He wants to give good things to His children, but we have to do our part and get up. Just like the paralyzed man at the pool, Jesus is asking us, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). Go to that silent place, slow down, and ask the Father what He wants to remove and give you in return. Ask Him what He thinks of you and how He wants you to see Him. You very well may face brokenness, but your brokenness is the bridge to your destiny, and God wants to make something beautiful out of it.

About The Author Matthew Dennis is currently serving as a children’s pastor and one of the college ministry leaders at The Grace Point in Cleveland, TN. You can follow him at awakenpurpose.wordpress.com.