Who loves the sound of rain on the roof? I sure do! I love that cozy feeling I get when it rains. It makes me want to grab a blanket, a good book or movie, and hunker down for a few hours of soul rest. Not everyone values soul rest, but everyone should value it. Why?
If you’ve ever run all day without a break, or all week, all month, all year, or year after year, you likely know why it is important to find physical and soul rest. Our American lifestyle values work, work, work, but we must take time to feed our souls. Because then our work will be more effective.
I’ve shared before how important it is to give from a full and not an empty cup. Even thinking logically, one cannot pour out of a container that has no substance. Neither you nor anyone else will receive anything to quench hunger or thirst when giving out of emptiness.
Last year, the Lord showed me a vision. In this vision, there was an empty glass on my kitchen table. A small child had a large gallon of milk and was attempting to pour milk into the empty glass. The child did pretty well, except once the glass was full, she didn’t stop pouring quickly enough and lots of milk spilled onto the table.
The Lord asked me if I saw what He was showing me. I answered, “Yes.”
He said, “Do you see the milk in the glass?”
“Yes”, I answered.
“And do you see the milk on the table?” He asked.
“Yes, Lord. I see the milk on the table.”
He said, “The milk in the glass is yours and the milk on the table belongs to everyone else. Do not give away the milk in the glass; that is for you alone! And for anyone else to get that milk on the table, they must come around. You are not responsible to make sure they come to get what you’re giving out. You simply give from your overflow.”
What a profound picture! Most of us are taught to give from our overflow, but many of us believe we are responsible to be sure everyone hears and receives what we give. That is not true. Each person is responsible for her or his own reception of Truth. Mic drop!
Does that help relieve some of the stress you’ve been carrying? Some of the responsibilities of what others are or are not doing? We are responsible for our own soul health first, then we may kindly reach out to others to help them.
Remember how we started with that cozy, rainy day? Maybe some of you prefer a sunny, warm field with a blanket and a cool glass of lemonade. Whichever you prefer, find yourself there either physically or emotionally, and begin to allow your soul to find health and peace.
We cannot force others to rest, sadly I’ve tried! But there are times when the Lord will allow us to burn ourselves out so much that we are forced to sit awhile and catch our breath. Why not rest before that happens? I want to end with one more story.
In 2014 I had ruptured disc surgery after a car accident late in 2013. When that disc ruptured my life changed literally from one day to the next. I was involved in business, in serving and leading worship at my church, in family life, and it all stopped – suddenly.
Over the next few months – years really – while I was sitting still, the Lord began to speak to me about how much He missed our time together because, in my busy season, I had not spent as much time with Him as I had in the past. While the season of the sudden stop was painful, since then I’ve gained so much understanding about what my spirit and soul need.
My priorities have shifted to include more time sitting, listening, and talking with my Father and allowing everything else I do to be birthed out of our sweet time together. If you feel you’ve lost some of that intimacy with Father, I want to invite you today to sit with Him. Ask Him this question, “Father, how do You feel about me?” You may be surprised to know that you’ll be met with a smile and an assuring word.
I want to end with these verses from Matthew 11:28-29 “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, and easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.” (Emphasis mine, The Passion Translation). I want to invite you to our next prayer call. We’ll be meeting by Zoom on Tuesday, April 26th from 6:30 to 7:30. Please save that time on your calendar and I’ll send the Zoom link closer to the time. To receive email communications, click here and sign up!
