Return To Your Rest
I had the opportunity to do something this past weekend that I haven’t done in a long time…too long! I went hunting with a friend! Please don't be offended if you don't have the same opinion about hunting. I was reminded how something so simple can be so filling and beneficial to my soul!
I read a book once by Pastor Wayne Cordeiro that had a huge impact on the way I lead my life. The book was Leading on Empty. In this book, Cordeiro gives a great principle to help us live a balanced life and to take care of our souls. He says to identify the top three to five things that “drain your tank,” and that “fill your tank". The idea is to limit the things that drain you and pursue the things that fill you. Only when we balance these things are we able to properly care for our souls.
Slowing down enough to do the things you love allows rest to do what it does best!
I love being outside, and I love the outdoors. Whether it’s hunting, camping, fishing, golf, working in the yard, or some project around the house, walking with my wife, you name it…if it has to do with the outdoors, I love it, especially hunting! I remember the first time I ever went hunting, I had no idea what I was doing, but I absolutely loved it. Hunting fills my tank! Slowing down enough to do the things you love allows rest to do what it does best!
It will allow you to see and notice things that your day-to-day velocity makes you miss. When I was in the woods this past weekend, I noticed things I don’t normally see. I saw nature living its day right in front of me without even knowing I was there. I noticed the distant sounds of vehicles on a busy road that didn’t seem to phase the life of the woods.
I saw leaves falling! One leaf fell on me. I started to flick it off, but I picked it up and looked at it and studied it. I. noticed. the. leaf. It was surreal! There was no stress, no busyness, no deadlines, no meetings! I was not “on;” I was disconnected. My soul was resting!
David the Psalmist spoke to his soul when he wrote, “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” – (Psalms 116:7). Returning to something that I love to do provided so much rest for my soul. I feel rejuvenated, refreshed, refueled. My mind is clearer, my outlook more positive, overall healthier. Rest has amazing spiritual benefit.
What do you love to do? What fills your tank? How’s your soul? Maybe it's time for you to say, “Return to your rest…my soul…”