Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5:1
“The man who truly and disinterestedly enjoys any one thing in the world, for its own sake, and without caring two-pence what other people say about it, is by that very fact forearmed against some of our subtlest modes of attack. You should always try to make the patient abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favour of the ‘best’ people, the ‘right’ food, the ‘important’ books.”
–from the Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
“Resist the urge to continue.”
Priscilla Shirer
Have you ever heard the song “Already Gone” by the Eagles? There’s a line about how we live in chains without realizing we have the key to set us free. Sometimes I forget that Christ has made me free, and I find myself in slavery to something of my own making. As the holiday season approaches, I often find myself biting off more than I can chew in relationship to work and projects. It’s time to free myself with a little time to breathe.
Our ladies Bible study just finished Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath by Priscilla Shirer. The topic is about honoring the Sabbath and its principles. God gave us the Sabbath to rest and take time to remember who God is and what He has done for us. The Sabbath principles aren’t just for one day a week.
God never intended us to fill up every single minute of our calendars. Sometimes we have to say no to good things in order to be obedient to God’s best. He has called us to careers and/or ministries, but He did not call us to be exhausted. We need to “resist the urge to continue” (Shirer) so that we can rest and prepare for the works we are called to do.
Today is usually an off day for me, meaning I am off from my day jobs to write and catch up on chores. However, there was something that needed to be done today at one of my jobs. My blog is always due on the first Friday of the month, so I needed to go to work and get my blog done. The problem is it would leave me with no down time on my one day off.
I finished the work, which took most of the day, and came home tired with this blog post still pending. I had an idea for a blog post which would take time and research to craft, but I decided to give this brief one instead. I am resisting the urge to continue. I am writing this shorter post, and then I am going to rest, read, and do some knitting while the washing machine runs. I’m going to take time to breathe. I’m going to follow C. S. Lewis’ advice and take a moment to enjoy the little things in life.
Let’s be grateful during this holiday season for a Sabbath rest and take a break to enjoy the life God has given us. I hope you’ll take a moment out of your day to breathe, reflect on God’s goodness today, and do something you enjoy.
Related Posts:
Just Breathe – The End Of My Yarn (lindalyle.com)
Amen! Well said Ms. Linda. We need to take time to contemplate what this holiday season means to us. In doing so, we’ll help many more than ourselves. God’s blessings ma’am.
I so appreciate this timely message, Linda! I feel it is one of the enemy’s not-so-subtle tactics, to overload me, distract me from God’s priorities, which includes rest. I’m going to schedule some downtime this weekend. Thanks for the reminder!
LOVED THIS! NEEDED THIS!