The Goodness of Unforced Rhythm

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."—Matthew 11:28-30, Message

And the reason the questions in this modern translation hit it out of the park is because, so often, the answer is:

Yes. Yes. And maybe—at least strangely restless with a sense that there’s got to be more than just being a good church-goer.

We are slow to get this, but how good to know that all through our journey, the perfect answer is always right in front of us, beside us, behind us, over us, and under us. Try as we might, perfect "rest" is not found in searching for another good idea out there that will make everything right, or a bigger or better this or that, or the ideal political leader, or even in one more lap around the track of world system insanity, but in trusting the One who personifies the word “rest,” and Who created it...and everything else.

  

This is no escape from reality, or sitting back and doing nothing. It's not something weird or mindless, either. Rather, it’s like the sweet spot—that unforced rhythm—a runner or walker or hiker feels when he is in step with his partner: the heart is pounding, the hills are steep at times, but there is someone there who is either talking with you or ready to listen every step of the way, and cheering you on when you’d rather call it a day. But more than a partner on the journey, this is the only One who leads the way perfectly every time, and whose trustworthy anthem is: "I Am the way, and the truth, and the life..."

Best of all, though a get-away would be nice, to get to a “Come to Me” kind of rest, we don’t have to go any further than the heart cry from our mouths, no matter where we happen to be:

“O Lord!”

“Here I Am”

"So teach my song to rise to You

    When temptations come my way

        And when I cannot stand I'll fall on You

           Jesus, You're my hope and stay."—Matt Maher

Stirred, Not Shaken

“And the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD…and the people feared [trusted in] the LORD…So, the LORD stirred up…the spirit of the whole remnant of the people.”—Haggai 1:12-14

It is one of the easiest things in life to do: putting off something that seems too overwhelming to accomplish by spending our time and energy doing a bunch of stuff to make our own little worlds comfortable and secure—and then staying in that own little world. We forget that, before the beginning of time, God created every single one of us for something beyond ourselves, something of eternal significance that would bust us out of our comfort zones.

This is what is happening here in this tiny Old Testament book filled with a blockbuster life lesson and life inspiration. The people of God have been called to rebuild the ruins of the temple—they’ve heard the assignment, they see the huge task ahead of them, they think about it a lot, they talk about it even more…and then busy themselves with building their own little houses, which is all well and good up to a point, but neglecting God's larger call on their lives.

This is every one of us. Some are more resolved and determined and industrious than others, but to some extent, we’ve all been in the Haggai story: shaken by the prospects of lack of confidence and ability for the brick-laying task ahead, and forgetting this vital nugget of Truth:

…we are HIS workmanship, HIS own master work, a work of art, created in Christ Jesus (reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used) for good works, which GOD prepared for us beforehand, taking paths which HE set, so that we would walk in them...living the good life which HE prearranged and made ready for us.—Ephesians 2:10, Amplified

Sometimes, we get stuck waiting for perfect timing, perfect life circumstances, no bills to pay, or "maybe after I take some more Bible courses, then..." when all the while, our temple-building assignment of eternal significance is often the one right in front of us: spiritually nurturing a child, caring for a parent, serving week after week in a tiny Sunday School room, relating humbly and graciously with co-workers, being available to listen, to lift a heavy box or a mood of despair.

It has nothing to do with our season in life, our size and stature, or talents, or looks, or smarts, and everything with, day by day, simply choosing to give God glory and worshiping Him with the very life He has given us and choosing not to be distracted by doing lots of things that don’t always matter much in the end. Sounds good enough..but never easy. Which is why the Word is always spot on, and that God puts examples in our lives, like the folks in Haggai, to help push us forward.

It's also good to know that when God calls us to do something, to build something, to re-build something—even a very difficult thing—when we, like this small band of God's children, swallow hard and, against every ounce of our screaming selfness choose to obey and trust Him, He will shake off our shakinness and “stir up” within us the strength, the will, the know-how, the determination,  the perseverance, and even the teammates, to complete the task...

...Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, spoke the Lord’s message to the people saying, “ ‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.”

 

"God is not looking for people to work for Him, but people who let Him work mightily in and through them."—John Piper

'Putting Up' 365

"For the mouth simply shapes the heart's impulses into words. And so the good man (who is filled with goodness), speaks good words, while the evil man (who is filled with evil) speaks evil words.  I tell you this: on the day of judgment, people will be called to account for every careless word they have ever said.”

—Matthew 12:33-37, Voice translation

Welcome to the home stretch. It may still feel like summer (thank You, Lord) on the first weekend of September, but psychologically, the mind has already made the shift to things like keeping warm against the coming harsh winds of winter, comfort foods, and “putting up” everything from veggies from the garden to stacks of seasoned firewood. It’s another way of saying, according to one dictionary, "to prepare so as to preserve for later use or to put in storage."

There’s another theme that seems to be in season: The words we speak. Seriously, again? Just when you think it’s a passing biblical topic you’ve heard a million times, and you head on to something more important, God has a way of saying through random verses, devotionals, and sermon nuggets:

“Not so fast, my friend. Especially in this season of history, when mean-spirited words are spreading like the plague, I want you—no, I need you—to get this and let it sink in. Words, as that opening scripture indicates, are vital to Me and My kingdom.”

David and the psalmists seem to come face-to-face with this reality over and over again—either humbly aware of the power of their own words to speak life or death, or as an unjust, non-stop assault from others against them or that simply fill the atmosphere with poison. Little wonder that David often used the word “enemy” in relation to these attacks, because indeed, poisonous words are essentials of the Accuser’s toolbox. Always have been, always will be.  In one instance, David says, “They…aim cruel words like deadly arrows.” But even when an actual arrow can be removed, the wound is deep and the scar can last a lifetime.

So, there is no maybe about it: Our words stick and leave a lasting mark—be they words of life or careless, unintentionally blurted out. And we know this, right?; but, well, it’s something “you’ve heard a million times, and so you head on to something more important.” Instead, as we begin another season of putting up fruit, veggies, and firewood, it’s good to also think of putting up for ourselves good and edifying God-thoughts that just might be the ones that will preserve someone’s dignity, confidence, and smile...digging through the vibrant life that is the Gospels, and meditating more frequently on God's tireless, unfailing, wooing Love song to all creatures great and small. The call to do so is loud and resounding:

• “…Store up my commands within you.”—Proverbs 7:1
• “Wise men store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.”—Proverbs 10:4
• “The LORD…will be the sure foundation of your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge…”—Isaiah 33:5-6
• “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”—Matthew 6:20-21

Lord, You know how good we are at putting our foot in our mouth. Help us to become bad at that, and let the overflow that comes from more time by Your side increasingly "put up" words that heal and not wound, bring a smile to a frown, and build up and not tear down. If not us, then who? At the same time, please protect us from the arrows of words aimed at us—intentionally or not—so that they have only a glancing blow and don't stop us in our tracks from what You have called us to do and be.