Ready
the REST of the week #69
It’s the rest of the week. What would you like to rest from right now?
Do you feel like you missed out on something this past week?
Do you ever shake your head at yourself (or maybe at someone else?) and wonder if you (or they?) will ever get it?
And what might “get it” mean to you? Does it refer to finally remembering to:
put the keys back in the same spot
turn the lights off before leaving
turn the light on before stumbling into the bathroom in the dead of night
act on the fact that it takes 15 minutes to get there—not 10
buy the groceries ahead of time
get the food prep done before the last second
fill up the tank now, instead of tomorrow morning
Or does it have to with more consequential things like remembering that you actually really do want to:
be the first to apologize
stay in conversation mode—instead of game show mode (rushing to have the first answer)
Say “no” to the unnecessary
Say “yes” to the non-negotiables
go to bed at an hour that provides enough sleep
get your annual physical exam done on time
get enough good nutrition
drink enough water
love your body with a little movement each day
share with someone
Perhaps you were just fine until you read all those items and now you don’t feel rested or restful at all.
Here’s the good news (an invitation to exhale and rest):
You will eventually get it if you just stay open and keep growing.
(This applies to that other person as well).
And you will get it when you’re ready.
(As will that other person. And let’s not get side-tracked with what “ready” means and the stress of wondering if we should be jumping through all the hoops to speed up the process).
Remember the Trees? The mangosteen tree takes forever (by which I mean around 12 years) to produce fruit, while some papaya seeds can sprout, become a trees, and push out papayas in a record time of 6 months.
There are words we need to hear over and over again before they make enough sense in our minds to germinate in our hearts. With each hearing, the truth becomes clearer and at some point, our God-given desires connect with the truth and we shift to change from the inside out.
And it’s so much easier to do the hard things from a place of internal willingness.
God is at work in us. We can trust him—which means we can trust the process.
Take Jesus’ disciples for example. They were walking along toward Jerusalem where Jesus was about to be crucified, but when he clearly laid it out to them—calling it a fulfillment of prophecy and including the parts about being mocked, spit on, and beaten:
“…the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.” Luke 18:34 NASB
We’re talking about the people that lived and worked with Jesus the Son of Man—in a physical form that they could see and touch and smell, 24/7. They saw the miracles first hand.
Jesus had also mentioned repeatedly that, after his death, he would come alive again on the third day, but those disciples were so terrified and distraught that when Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and “the other women with them” rushed in to give them the good news that Jesus had, in fact resurrected:
“…these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.”
(See the Gospel of Luke chapter 24)
All of them except for Peter*—the disciple who rejected Jesus’ warning that he would betray Jesus, only to fulfill that prediction less than 24 hours later. Crushed to realize the truth of what he was capable of doing, Peter was perhaps a little more “ready”, and he ran to the tomb to check it out.
Later that Sunday afternoon, two other disciples encountered Jesus on a long walk to another village. They had no idea it was him, however, because:
“…their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.”
He asked them what they were talking about so intently and in great sadness they poured out the story of what had just happened that weekend, disappointment weighing down every word:
“…we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel…”
Now, they were ready. This time, they listen so intently that when Jesus provided a thorough explanation, they “got it”—their hearts “burned within them”. They invited Jesus to eat with them and while he blessed and broke the bread,
“…their eyes were opened and they recognized him…”
Those anxious disciples became whole-hearted believers. They still had their human foibles and things to work out, but there was an internal shift that changed their whole orientation. When they started broadcasting the Good News, people took note, and:
“When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
(Acts 4:13 ESV)
Doesn’t it sound restful to take it on good faith that God is just as patient with us as he was with them and that we can rest in this process we are in?
May your rest be sweet,
Alicia
*unless you’re reading John’s account (John chapter 20) which reports that both Peter and John ran to the tomb. Given how much John loved Jesus and writes about love in all his letters, you could imagine that love would trump doubt enough to spur him on to check for himself. Knowing you’re loved is a powerful motivator.