“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – (Matthew 11:28 NIV)

Take a break

I am not really a NASCAR fan, but I love the movie Days of Thunder so I get it. The cars are fast and loud, the competitors can be characters, and the culture around the events is infectious. Many of my friends love racing, and I have been able to learn a great deal about it from them.

I had always rejected NASCAR based on the assumption that it was just a bunch of people driving in circles. But when I learned about all of the strategy involved, I was instantly intrigued. As it turns out, there is more to it than turning left until you run out of gas and then filling up to do it again. You have teammates on the track, drafting is a major part of fuel conservation and being able to make your move at the right time, and perhaps most importantly is continually changing your tires.

Sure, you could keep the same tires for most of the race. You can just stay on the track for as long as possible and hope they hold up until the end. But there will come a point when you start losing traction. Your speed will decrease, you will have less control over the vehicle, and you may have a complete blowout that leads to a crash.

We often have the mentality in ministry that we must persevere through whatever hardships come along. I have probably even written that in a devotional here. However, we also must remember that we are called to rest. God commands us to keep the Sabbath holy and to take time away from our work (even ministry work) to focus on Him. In the gospels, we often see Jesus retreat from the crowds to recharge.

If you are not staying spiritually refreshed, your work for the Kingdom of God will not be able to reach its full potential. You must take a break every now and then, change your spiritual tires, and allow God to give you whatever it is you need to complete the work He has planned for you.

Have you been dedicated to rest in the ways that God has commanded?

– Jamie Boggs

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