Beyond Limits

I’m a lists person, I don’t know about you but I love to keep a list. What to do, what to buy (which sometimes should be more along the lines of ‘what I wish to buy’), where to go, what’s next on the schedule etc. I like to think that if it’s on my list, then it needs to be done… and sometimes done before many other important things that need to be done. Unfortunately, though for me, no matter how organised I am, how early I get up in the morning or how much I try to accomplish it, not everything can be done. Kids get sick, work tasks override, family commitments come up and quite honestly… most of the time, I’m just too tired and just can’t fit it all in. But something within me still thinks I can do it all on the weight of my own shoulders.

God has created such a magnificent world that is so defined… days with hours and minutes, time for rest and work, time for eating and more importantly, time to be with Him. There is a rhythm for our whole day but sometimes it’s easy to stray from the importance of what God has called us to do and the timing he has placed before us… skipping meals and breaks to squash more in, sleeping less so we can watch just one more episode on tv, filling our day up so that there is no time to sit in His Word and rest in His goodness. We just tend to want to be our own god and create our own comfort in life. Staying ahead of the game and having everything sorted has become such a normal pace in our lives that my heart often forgets that isn’t what I was created for.

John Piper wrote “Sleep is a daily reminder from God that we are not God”.

The thing is, no matter how hard I work, I am never going to get everything on my agenda done. God has not designed me just to accomplish everything on my task list. I was created to rely on Him, to trust in Him, to live for Him and to give Him the glory.

In my field of work, I am blessed to work alongside some pretty amazing humans… KIDS! And like we all know, they ask great questions, which one of them asked me recently… If God is God, how come he got so tired after making everything?

Great question… But as we read through the story of creation, God reminds us that rest isn’t just a good idea, it’s His example and standard for us. Our all-powerful God does not grow weary, and yet he chose to rest on the seventh day of creation.

“To rest is to cease striving, to be restored and refreshed. It is ultimately a physical picture of what we are called to spiritually. The cross of Christ didn’t simply make it possible for us to take some time off for the burden of sin and death; it purchased for us true rest from its weight to shame continually. In Christ, we can rest from our labouring in self preservation and self righteousness and put our trust in a Saviour who is “before all things, and in Him all things hold together” – Colossians 1:17
– Ruth Chou Simons – Gracelaced

What a relief! What a blessing that we can be continually reminded that there is no significance, hope or value that we can strive for and gain for ourselves that hasn’t already been made fully available for those who rest in Him.

What does this mean for us now?

Well to be honest, there are different seasons in life, so it doesn’t always look the same. Things still need to be done, All the daily grind of tasks are still there, but what I do know in my heart has shifted. My focus and motivation come from Him. My Eyes are realigned to what He has called me to with the resources and people He has placed in front of me. My day doesn’t begin with writing a list of all the things I need to do in my own strength but opening His word and soaking up His Word of truth and light.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and he will make straight your paths.”
– Proverbs 3:5-6

Love, Pipa