By Guest: Joanne Kraft
Our pastor shared on Sunday that he’s taking a sabbatical. After fifteen years at the pulpit he and his wife believe it’s time for a few months of rest. There are some who’d disagree with this decision. “Take a sabbatical? Really?” “Pastors don’t take time off.”
Why not?
I’ll admit, when I heard the announcement I smiled to myself and thought, good for them. Everyone needs a little rest. He was preaching to the choir. I wrote the book about taking a “radical sabbatical” remember?
For the life of me I don’t understand why our world has us convinced the busier we are the more productive we are—the more valuable we are. It’s a lie, plain and simple. My favorite acronym for busy is burdened under Satan’s yoke. Don’t be tricked by the bondage of busyness. You and I both need to be still and rest.
God’s creatures take rest to a whole new level by hibernating each year. Most of us think of bears when we think of hibernation, yet bears aren’t considered ‘true hibernators’ since they birth their babies and care for them during the winter months. Badgers, opossums, groundhogs, wasps, rodents, bats and some fish species hibernate. They retreat and lie dormant, their heart rate and metabolism slows to a snail’s pace, readying them for another year.
God calls us to take a Sabbath rest every week. It’s not a kind suggestion, it’s a command from our King. So, if he asks us to Sabbath rest weekly, then maybe an extended sabbatical rest is like experiencing a holy hibernation.
Too often, we look at taking time off or being still as a sign of laziness or being unproductive. The truth is, we were made to do great things for His glory. We can’t accomplish His plans for our life without rest. Rest strengthens us for the holy job ahead.
Are you a mom? Do you desire to raise children into responsible, independent, God honoring adults? That’s quite a task. It’s a lifetime occupation that takes daily rest. Beth Moore says, “No one can do a thousand things to the glory of God.” Being busy day in and day out robs us of the godly rest we were created to enjoy and steals anointed opportunities to be on our ‘A’ game.
I love what God says about rest in Psalm 23: 1-3
The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake.
Did you get that line back there? He makes me lie down.
What will it take to make you lie down? Will you be obedient and do it without being made to? The Greek word used for “makes me lie down” means to recline or stretch out. How cool is that? There are so many times I’ve been focused on something and He has made me lie down—given me a holy time-out. I try to meet God before he makes me. I love to experience His “still” needed to “refresh” and “restore” me.
What a blessed example my pastor is. He is taking a rest before God makes him. I am grateful he is leading his church in a posture of refreshment. He is modeling holy hibernation so he can come back stronger for the God ordained tasks ahead. I can’t wait to sit under his teaching when he gets back. I anticipate great things.
Do you model Sabbath rest for your kids? Are you running a million miles an hour each day? Don’t be discouraged by the captivity of activity. God gives you permission to rest. Why don’t you take Him up on it before He makes you?
Joanne Kraft is a recovering too-busy mom and the author of Just Too Busy—Taking Your Family on a Radical Sabbatical. A sought-after speaker, Joanne’s articles have been published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, Thriving Family, In Touch, ParentLife, Today’s Christian Woman, Kyria, P31 Woman and more. She’s appeared on CBN News, Focus on the Family, Family Life Today, The Harvest Show and Sacramento & Co.
Joanne worked as a 911 Police Dispatcher where she met the love of her life, Paul, while dispatching him to a call. Lifelong Californians, the Kraft family took a cross-country leap of faith and moved to Tennessee to raise their four children Meghan, David, Grace and Samuel and have happily traded their soy milk and arugula for sweet tea and biscuits.
Sign up for Joanne’s monthly newsletter The Busy Mom Bulletin on her website JoanneKraft.com.
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