Rest

December 30, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest and Listening to God

Rest and Listening to God

When I joined a webinar the other day, the automated voice punched through my speakers with the words, “You are in listen-only mode.” In a recent conference call, when I dialed in, I was greeted with, “You are muted.”

I think that’s how we should approach God. In listen-only mode. Muted.

Maybe that should be our new attitude for 2020.

Can you imagine what our relationship with God would be like if we closed our mouths and listened? Not for 60 seconds. Or five minutes. How about 15 minutes of silence before God? That sounds so painful! Actually, the opposite is true. It’s one of the most refreshing practices you can develop.

Wayne Cordeiro, a pastor in Hawaii, tells the story of how he burned out after 30 years in the pulpit. You might wonder how someone can burn out in Hawaii. Yes, it happens even there.

To get his life back, Wayne forced himself to be silent before God in a peaceful, quiet setting. For days. Even weeks. He went to a monastery! It wasn’t easy at first. He snuck out a couple times to use his cell phone. Eventually, Wayne did get his life back, but it took a long season of listening to God.

I’m not prescribing a monastery for you, but what can you do to assure that you’ll spend time in listen-only mode? Not once or twice, but consistently. Make a habit of it.

When we love someone, we want to be with them. God loves you and enjoys being with you. This desire is so great that he sent his Son to the cross to make it possible for you to have a relationship of oneness with him.

What an amazing invitation from the all-knowing, all-loving, everlasting, omnipresent, all-powerful, sacrificial God. Can you imagine what you’d learn about the God of the universe by spending time with him in listen-only mode?

You’ll learn a lot about him. More importantly, you’ll know him. It will get better every day.

Listening to God in silence is one thing but listening with your Bible open is another. We learn in 2 Timothy 3:16 that “All Scripture is breathed out by God.” (ESV)

We have 66 books of the Bible, God speaking to us. Have you ever thought of it that way? If you want to know what God thinks, read his Word. Not to study, but to listen.

When you spend time listening to God, come from a standpoint of relationship. You’re not trying to get something from God or hear some revelation. Your relationship with God is the most important thing in your life. Listening to God makes it stronger.

Today, when you practice resting, spend some time quietly listening to God.

(From my 30-day devotional: Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest. Available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback)

November 26, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest from Schedule

Rest from Schedule

For most of us, there’s no shortage of commitments in our lives. If we look on the refrigerator, we can usually see some type of calendar or schedule that reminds us of our busyness. Kids’ activities, church events, deadlines, doctor appointments, school assemblies, games and everything else a family has pledged to attend.

Our schedules are exhausting. Just looking at them makes us weary.

I’m sure the apostles experienced exhaustion, too. They were forming the church. There was a world to reach for Christ and they took their assignment seriously. But I’m drawn to these verses: “With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” (Acts 2:46-47 NIV)

I sense a schedule of freedom as I read these verses. The apostles met daily in the temple courts and spent time having meals with their brothers and sisters in Christ. I don’t sense a rushed pace. They did this with “gladness.” They praised God as they met. They were able to rest, truly enjoying this daily experience. It could have become a burden, but it didn’t.

We need rest from our schedules or they will rule our lives. Take a day and close the calendar, pull your schedule off the fridge, shut off the alarms on your phone and live apart from your commitments. Practice a full day of rest.

It may cramp your style. You might have something scheduled every day of the week. For us, in some seasons, soccer tournaments crept into our Sundays. We bowed to the schedule and attended. Before we knew it, every single day was ruled by our calendar . . .  even that one day we had hoped to give to God.

I would make different choices now. My priorities have changed. As my kids used to say, “Can I have a do-over?”

When my wife and I moved to North Carolina, one of the blessings was that our calendar wasn’t packed. In fact, it was quite empty. No church home, no friends, no social or family commitments. It was a clean slate that we were careful about filling.

One of the things we decided to do was use Sunday afternoons after church to explore. We spent a couple hours driving, hiking and simply enjoying our new surroundings. It felt so refreshing to be off the clock and have no agenda. We’ll have to learn to protect that time as our commitments start to grow.

How can you clear time in your week so you’re free from your schedule? Take a rest from the craziness that invades your family and life. You’ll find that slowing down is a good habit and a healthy rhythm. Build rest into your week.

Within that rest, meet with God. Pray together as a family. Worship with the larger family of God. Talk about the Lord. Give your spouse and children time alone with him. A day without a schedule is a day you can deepen your relationship with God and your loved ones.

What a novel idea.

(From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest. Available from Amazon in Kindle and Paperback).

November 17, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest and Prayer

Rest and Prayer

Are you on the go so much that you don’t have time for prayer? Not quick prayers, but uninterrupted time with God. When you discover the richness of prayer, you’ll know the richness of rest, too.

When we pray, we release our concerns to God. We praise him for who he is. We confess sin. We thank him. We turn our hearts to him. Instead of our tasks becoming our focus, prayer is at the center. The thought of this is restful.

Rest is more than a physical thing. It’s spiritual, too.

I’ve been traveling the past three days and, I must admit, my prayer life has suffered. My practice of rest has suffered, too, and I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

This morning, I finally had calm, uninterrupted time with God. I was able to pray without a deadline, read the Word slowly, worship God and simply sit before the Lord. It was restful. I felt as if I were breathing again.

This prayer time helped me get perspective. I came away with a better picture of who God is and sensed a greater confidence in him. God was bigger and the world was smaller.

Something special happens when we close ourselves off from life and retreat with God.

When you rest with God in prayer, worries and anxieties diminish. Being in the presence of God chases away those feelings. If they don’t fade away, then you need more time with God. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).

Knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that the God of the universe cares for you should chase away any anxiety you have.

Resting with God in prayer also takes the focus off yourself. We get caught up in ourselves with our worries. Prayer is the antidote to that. When I prayed this morning, I began lifting the needs of others before God. Soon I was far away from my own concerns. I was waging a spiritual battle on behalf my friends and family members.

Resting with God in prayer grows your faith. As you praise God for who he is, thank him for his blessings and turn your requests over to him, the Holy Spirit builds your faith. Being in the presence of God without a lot of baggage strengthens your faith.

I don’t know how you’re doing in practicing rest. I’ve missed a handful of days in my 66-day challenge. But I keep coming back, experiencing more consistency in practicing rest. I encourage you to stick with it.

Spend time with God in restful prayer instead of rushing prayer. I know you’ll develop the habit of rest we’ve been considering during our 30-day focus together. Empty yourself to God, casting all your cares on him. Be consumed with who he is. Enjoy quiet fellowship with him. It will change your day.

(From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest. Available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback).

October 22, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest and Restoration

Rest and Restoration

“But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV)

I want those words to describe my life. I want to soar!

But I don’t always feel like an eagle. I’m more like a duck. Quack, quack, quack, waddling through the day. Can you relate?

Sometimes, I’m so weary that I can’t walk without nearly fainting.

What would it look like to run tirelessly and soar effortlessly?

I come back to the practice of rest. We’ve learned this month that rest isn’t only physical, but it’s also spiritual. It’s not only about pausing, but it’s about praying. It’s not always quiet isolation, but it’s connection with God. As you wait on the Lord, spiritual rest will lead to physical rest.

He’s the one who gives us true restoration, as he tells us in that familiar Psalm, “He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:2-3 ESV)

Billy Graham’s preaching ministry was launched to the next level during the Los Angeles Crusade in 1949. It was supposed to last two weeks, but it lasted eight weeks. Night after night, Billy preached. People came forward to commit their lives to Christ. The tent was filled again and again. It was exhausting for Billy. He even ran out of sermons and had to write fresh ones on the run. By his own admission in his biography, Billy Graham was spent, physically and spiritually.

Yet, he poured his life into preaching the gospel around the world for the next 60 years. I think he knew the secret of resting in the Lord. There’s no other way he could have lasted as long as he did. God restored him year in and year out as Billy came back to the living water.

Are you coming to the living water each day as you practice rest? Jesus proclaimed, “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38 NIV) And in the next verse, it is explained, “By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

If you have committed your life to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit lives in you. He is the one who will restore you with the living water that will flow from within you.

Enjoy your practice of rest as you spend time with Jesus today.

(From my new devotional, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest, releasing in just a few days on Amazon).

October 12, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Jesus and Rest

Jesus and Rest

Jesus was fully God and fully man. And he chose to rest often. Reading through the Gospels, we see that rest was a habit of Jesus. He commonly practiced rest and prayer together, in all hours of the day or night. Let’s take a look.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35 NIV)

“But the news about Jesus spread all the more, and great crowds came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.” (Luke 5:15-16 NIV)

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” (Luke 6:12 NIV)

In his time of deepest sorrow, learning that John the Baptist had been beheaded, Jesus got away from the crowds. “When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place.” (Matthew 14:13 NIV)

I don’t get the picture that Jesus ever hurried, even though he was in great demand. He showed up “late” for Lazarus, who died before Jesus came (John 11). The ruler’s daughter has also passed away prior to Jesus’ arrival (Mark 5). Jesus chastised Martha for scurrying around to serve him while, at the same time, applauded Mary for sitting and listening to him (Luke 10).

Jesus’ temperament wasn’t dictated by the sundial. Not only did he habitually take time to get away and pray, it became his way of living. That’s remarkable when you consider the constant pressure he lived with. I’m sure that before he started his public ministry, he had already lived rest for a couple decades. It was natural for him.

Jesus had good reason to skip rest. He was the Savior of the world. Yet, he did rest. He was intentional about it.

If Jesus rested, it should give you the assurance that you can rest, too. Remember, you aren’t the savior of the world. No matter how great the demand is on your life, it doesn’t come close to the demand Jesus lived with. And he rested.

Find your places of escape so you can rest. Have a spot to go at home and when you’re at work. If you have kids running around, your resting place may be in your car. You might need help from your spouse or a friend to watch the kids while you steal away. Jesus had to go to great lengths to be alone.

If we practice rest by getting away like Jesus did, we’ll develop a spirit of rest that stays with us day in and day out.

Where will you retreat to rest today?

(From my upcoming new devotional Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest).

October 1, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on God Rested

God Rested

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” (Genesis 2:2 ESV)

God must have been exhausted after creating the universe, because he took a whole day off. I know that’s a ridiculous thought, but we can’t ignore the fact that God did rest. And he did it for a reason.

Rest was so important to God that, later on, he gave mankind the Sabbath for the purpose of rest.

God didn’t need rest, of course, but he created us to need rest. We’re reminded of that at the end of every day and at times during the day. As much as we think we’re independent, strong, capable and great, the daily need for rest puts us in our place. In bed!

Just last week someone reminded me that God gave his people the Sabbath not as a burden, but as a gift. In our world, we value work and achievement. The thought of setting aside a full day for rest is nearly incomprehensible. It doesn’t fit our lifestyle. Giving God just an hour or two to worship once a week is such a stretch that most “regular” churchgoers only attend two or three times a month.

This isn’t a devotional on the Sabbath. Entire books have been written on it. But we can’t ignore that rest is a huge priority to God and has been since creation. It should be to us.

I admit it’s a challenge to rest. It doesn’t come easy, even when we’re intentional about it.

I’ve learned in the early days of my 66-day challenge that it takes the first few minutes to settle my heart, soul and spirit. I can’t just go into “rest mode.” I slip into it as I sit calmly in solitude. You may find that to be true for you. When I get to the point where I feel I’m resting, it’s wonderful. It’s refreshing. It’s good.

The same person who shared with me about the Sabbath being a gift from God also pointed out a way to make sure rest becomes a priority. He called it the big rock principle. Drop a big rock into a jar. Then begin dropping in smaller rocks and they settle around the big one.

The big rock for our lives is rest. Make room for it first. The smaller rocks are all our activities and responsibilities. If you put the small rocks in first, there’s no room for the big rock. In fact, you can keep putting in small rocks and have a life that’s unlivable before long.

How will you build rest into your life? Begin thinking about it and ponder it for the next few days. Listen to God. Keep coming back to this concept. Let him carve a personal plan for you. It may fit your lifestyle — or you may have to make lifestyle changes.

I hope you’re taking the 10-minute 66-day challenge with me. That’s a start. A lifestyle of rest can grow out of that.

Here’s a reminder that will re-center you. Above all, your relationship with God is the most important thing in your life. Rest is good but Jesus is best. Don’t miss that as you’re on this journey of figuring out rest.

(From my upcoming book, Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest, coming to Amazon this month).

September 24, 2019 Jfuglerwriter Comments Off on Rest and Devices

Rest and Devices

When it comes to getting rest for our souls these days, has God has left us to our own devices? Actually, I think he wants us to put them to rest so we can rest. Our devices . . . today’s biggest enemy to rest.

We’ve heard the statistics. The average person each day spends over 75 minutes on social media, nearly a half hour texting, 25 minutes on email, 15 minutes playing games, and the rest of the time on calls and apps, for a total of over four hours a day. The biggest time waster used to be TV. Now it’s whatever we want it to be on our phone.

We’ve also heard the health warnings. “The more people use their phone,” Dr. Nancy Cheever, researcher at California State Dominguez Hills, told ABC News, “the more anxious they are about using their phone.”

People are anxious with their devices. It seems like we’re anxious without them, too. When we don’t have our phone with us, we’re afraid we’ll miss a text. We don’t want to be excluded from important information. As a result, we have some sort of device detachment syndrome.

So you don’t think I’m immune to this, I admit I have my phone with me all the time. I check it often for a number of reasons. I don’t do Facebook (it makes me anxious) but I have a plethora of other choices. I must make sure the weather forecast hasn’t changed in the past half hour, my favorite team is still playing tomorrow night, and I haven’t missed any breaking news, and a super-duper urgent text hasn’t escaped my attention.

Once I have all that settled, I’m at peace and can rest. Not quite. Ten minutes later, I have to re-check all those sources. No wonder I can’t rest!

I hope you’re squirming right now. You should be. I should be, too, as I confess my device dependence.

On the count of three, let’s both slide our phones across the floor like we’re a criminal surrendering a Magnum to the police. Ready?

1 . . . 2 . . . 3! Slide that phone across the floor. If you’ve got a second one concealed under your pant leg, slide that one, too.

I know this conversation is humorous, but the reality is not. How much time do we fail to rest because, thanks to our phones, we can’t shut down? We can’t relax! It’s tragic. God is sad. He sees us chasing our tails and beckons us to slow down, pause, stop. And rest.

On some phones, you can see a “screen time” report. How horrible. It shows us, like a mirror, how dependent we are on our devices. Imagine if you spent just 10% of that time resting? Resting with God. It’s like tithing your screen time to God.

Well, now that I’ve got you rattled, I’ll conclude today’s reflection and let you decide what your next step is. I can’t tell you what to do to take back some rest time from your device. But God can.

Slide that phone across the floor and spend the next few minutes consulting with the Lord.

(From my upcoming book. Your Life With God: 30 Days of Rest. Coming in October to Amazon.)

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