In coming to Guatemala, I thought I would be doing ministry three times a day, six days a week, only in Guatemala. But as is always the case on the mission field, God LOVES surpresas! Last Wednesday, my teammates crammed into the back of the Yukon again and went to Honduras. Yep, we went to another country. Nope, it wasn't on the trip description page when I applied. Was I completely stoked? You better believe it!
Ministry in Honduras was definitely a lesson in patience among other things. God has definitely taught us patience here in Guatemala in terms of flexibility with schedule, but Honduras took it to a whole new level. Often, we didn't know what we were doing until it was time to leave, and even if we were told to be ready at a specific time, we wouldn't leave until three or four hours later. But God is so good and we got to experience a different kind of ministry focus: one where we pursued and edified other believers, rather than evangelising to the lost. Our purpose going in was to visit Mamma Hilda's (one of our contacts here) church and get them fired up for evangelism. We did lots of house-to-house visits with them, built relationships with the pastor and his wife (since we lived at the church), and even did a seminar/class on evangelism (followed by practice in the street after). While this was an impactful trip for me, it wasn't until I got home Sunday night that I realized how emotionally and spiritually drained I was.
Consequently, today our team prayed and decided to take a rest day with the Lord. As I dug into his presence and truth, he revealed some crazy points about rest that I had forgotten or failed to ever realize.
I started off worshipping to a Jonathan and Lisa song called "All that matters". They are from my hometown, but you can find them on youtube I belive. The bridge and chorus goes:
My soul finds rest, in God alone/ my salvation and honor depend on God// So Lord come quickly, for I am in desperate need! And all that matters is knowing you, all that matters is knowing you, all that matters Jesus is knowing you!//
God brought to my mind that I wanted a REAL day of rest, not just a lazy day on facebook or sleeping. He also reminded me that I am not to STRIVE for his rest, that I need to let him simply give it to me.
Psalm 127:1-2 Unless the Lord builds a house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Cross referenced for that verse is Mark 4:26-27 which says, "And he said, 'The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, he knows not how.'"
Really take a second and stop to think about this: Yes, God uses us for his kingdom, but results are NOT because of us or our labor, it's because of GOD moving. Yes, God uses our team to share his gospel in bar ministry, but ultimately we DON'T change their hearts or save them, God does. Therefore, we shouldn't fear resting in him. Salvation is NOT dependent on us. It is okay to rest in him!
Ecclessiastes 5:10-12 says, "He who loves money will NOT BE SATISFIED with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this is also vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has the owner but to see them with his eyes? SWEET IS THE SLEEP OF A LABORER, WHETHER HE EATS LITTLE OR MUCH, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep."
For many, especially myself, "money" here could be replaced with "results of my labor". We often get so lost in seeing results, just so that our labor and obedience are justified, that we no longer serve God out of love and our desire to please him.
Our ultimate contentment needs to be found RESTING in God; NOT in our circumstances, NOT in what we have, and NOT in seeing the fruits of our labors.
Take a second each day you wake up, throughout the day as you are serving, and as you go to bed and ask yourself: "Am I working out of love for God, or am I working to get results and feel accomplished?"
But get this, rest isn't only possible when you pull away from work! When you abide in God and walk with him (see John 15), you have rest EVEN WHILE LABORING!
Exodus 33:14 says, "And He said, 'My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.'"
When we abide in God, we are given rest even in the midst of labor! What a crazy concept- having rest even while laboring for him BECAUSE we abide in him. I pray that he will open us up to all the ways he provides rest beyond physical sleep, rest that can only be found in his presence!
Finally, I will leave you with this: True rest comes from God, it CAN NOT be manufactured by us! 55 DIFFERENT verses directly state rest as "being given by God" or "coming from God" (See Below). And that is just what my inadequate study revealed this morning! 55 verses between old and new testament; this is a big deal! God wants us to get this!
Ultimately, this is a HUGE deal when it comes to spiritual warfare and fighting for his kingdom! A weary soldier cannot effectively fight his battle. Likewise, if we are not abiding in God and finding our rest in him, we cannot fight this battle as he desires us to fight it. Our team has been going through David Platt's Secret Church series on Angels, Demons, and Spiritual Warfare (You can find it here: http://www.radical.net/media/schurch/series_list/?id=63 ). I URGE you to listen to this series (he breaks it down into four segments) intently and really dig deep in the scripture that he uses. Spiritual warfare is SO real and it is SO intense and you need ALL of Christ's strength to take up the full armor and fight. Phillipians 4:13 reassures us we can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength. But if we aren't resting in him, how can we rely on his strength?
An olympic athlete can't compete at their full potential without full rest, nor can soldiers fight without focus and strength. As both athletes and warriors for Christ, how much more do we need to be living and fighting this all out war FULLY EQUIPED and FULLY STRENGTHENED?
That can only happen when we are truly resting in God. Seek his rest! Abide in him!
Verses I gathered in study this morning are as follows: Deut. 3:20; Deut. 12:9-10; Deut. 25:19; Josh. 1:13,15; Josh. 21:44; Josh. 22:4; Josh. 23:1; Judges 3:11; Ruth 1:9; 2 Sam. 7:1; 2 Sam. 7:11; 2 Sam. 14:17; 1 Kings 5:4; 1 Kings 8:56; 2 Kings 18:19-22; 1 Chron. 22:9; 1 Chron. 23:25; 2 Chron. 14:1; 2 Chron. 14:6; 2 Chron. 15:15; 2 Chron. 20:30; Psalm 22:2; Psalm 23:3; Psalm 62:7; Psalm 94:13-14; Psalm 95:11; Psalm 116:7; Psalm 127:2; Prov. 19:23; Isaiah 14:3; Isaiah 23:12; Isaiah 28:11-12; Isaiah 30:15; Isaiah 32:18; Isaiah 36:4-7; Isaiah 62:6-7; Isaiah 63:14; Jeremiah 6:16; Jeremiah 31:2-3; Jeremiah 33:12; Jeremiah 45:3; Jeremiah 50:34; Lam. 5:5; Micah 2:10; Matt. 11:28-29; Mark 6:31; 2 Cor. 12:9; Heb. 3:11-18; Heb. 4:1-11; 1 Pet. 5:10; Rev. 6:11; Rev. 14:11; Rev. 14:13
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