Into the Wilderness: Day 7

“On the seventh day God rested.” “Remember the sabbath and keep it holy.” “Come to me and I will give you rest.” “There remains a rest for the people of God.”

“Just a few more minutes.” How many times have I said that to myself? It’s a lie. I know it’s a lie. It was a lie when I said it to my mom as a child to try and eek out a few more minutes of sleep; and it’s a lie now when I think if I can just hang out under the blankets a few more minutes then I’ll be ready to get up and take on the day. As if those few minutes will magically give me the boost of energy I need. Rest doesn’t come that easy.

I can’t help but think that I similarly lie to myself about the soul rest from the wilderness. How often do I cling to this notion that some change in my circumstances will magically produce this soul rest I crave? I’ve walked the journey long enough to know that this is a naive illusion. This kind of rest is not an overnight refreshment. This rest runs deeper. This is a rest that develops over time. The sabbath is once a week. The Gospels will say, “Jesus went out… ‘as usual…’ to a solitary place to pray.” This kind of soul rest is cultivated as I learn to live in the rhythms of work and rest. There is a time in the wilderness journey to climb; there is a time to search for water; there is a time to calculate the navigation; and there is a time to stop…sit…and embrace the reality that you are in the wilderness, and it is not a one day journey out. So, a rhythm of rest is necessary.

There is a difference in resting on the journey and getting lost on the journey. Sometimes I can confuse soul rest with disappearing in the wilderness, sleeping in the wilderness. These are too long. Rest is only long enough to get your legs back under you, get your bearings and orientation about you, get your breath back…then begin putting one foot in front of the other. The fundamental principle in any endurance activity is: DONT STOP! Regardless of how slow, just… keep… moving. It is essential to pause on occasion. But, pausing to step back away and observe the journey, is not the same as stopping the journey.

"God of my endurance, in my moments of pause, may you refresh me just enough to keep on moving. May you remind me that “just a few more minutes” has no refreshing power, but simply delays the next leg of the journey. In the name of the one who turns weakness into strength. AMEN!"