Rest is a person
Jesus was never in a hurry—how can we learn from him?
John Ortberg tells the story of a traveler visiting Africa who hired a group of carriers and guides. On the first day, they made wonderful progress, but on the second day, the others remained seated and refused to move. The traveler asked the leader what was wrong. There was nothing wrong, noted the leader. He simply said on the first day they had traveled far too fast, and now the carriers and guides were simply waiting for their souls to catch up to their bodies.1 Have you ever felt like those hired carriers and guides? The pace you set is hard and fast, maybe because you feel there is so much to do and so little time to do it. But a pace like that will soon require a cost, a cost that may impact you and your ministry.
When Judy and I traveled to Japan pre-pandemic, we often facilitated a spiritual and physical renewal retreat called Refresh. This retreat was designed in response to a member care survey we did in 2017, where we discovered that the majority of missionaries in Japan desired most “an experience of rest and spiritual renewal.” Participating in a retreat is certainly one way to receive the longed-for rest and renewal one finds hard to discover as a missionary. But it is certainly not the only way. The key is not mainly in looking for the what or the where. Rather, it is looking to, longing for, and living into the who. Rest is a person.
Jesus was never in a hurry
When you read the Gospels, you quickly find that Jesus was never in a hurry—never driven by anything but the mandate to do the Father’s will. We find this clearly in statements Jesus made, such as John 4:34: “My food is to do the will of my Father who sent me and to accomplish his work” (ESV). Or note John 5:19: “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.” And finally John 8:28: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.”
It is not hard to see how in tune God the Son was with God the Father. In response to this reality, there is a little phrase we often use in Barnabas International circles when encouraging missionaries: “Jesus was never need-driven.” His work was the natural overflow of the relationship Jesus had with his Father in heaven. Of course, Jesus met needs. Indeed, he met many of them, but always out of a sense of purposefulness and intentionality. It was the way he lived.
Might I suggest that this is the model we can follow when it comes to life and ministry? This way of Jesus teaches us how to live and work differently from the way the culture or society may expect us to. But when we do, it can only result in a more peaceful and restful experience.
Four steps to finding rest
In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet tries to get the people to understand that a relationship with their God is the only way to find true rest. He gives them four simple steps for finding soul rest. In Jeremiah 6:16 we read, “Thus says the Lord; ‘Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls” (emphasis added by author).
First, we are to stop and evaluate where we are in our lives and ministry. Pain and burnout demand that we stop in our tracks and take inventory of our soul. Second, Jeremiah says that we need to look. Another way to say this is that we pay attention, seek out the good direction, observe others who may have found rest and know what that way is. The third step is to ask others who have been down the road a bit. In other words, find mentors who can help point the way to the good paths. Finally, once we commit to the good way, we need to walk (not run) in that direction. Sadly, the people in Jeremiah’s day refused to heed his direction and experienced severe consequences. How much better to pursue the Father in relationship and love. We respond to his loving initiative with our hearts pointed toward him.
There is a reason Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Rest is a person, and he is waiting for us to follow his leading. It is then we will find rest for our souls.
1. John Ortberg, Soul Keeping (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 130. Original author of this African story was Lettie Cowman.