“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him”
– Psalm 37:7
It’s Monday night, November 2, as I write this. I’m in a hotel room in London, near Heathrow Airport. This morning I woke up in a crash in Helsinki, Finland at 4:20am for an early flight. By “waking up in a crash” I mean that my emotional energy level had bottomed out after 3 weeks of international travel, pouring out, getting sick, and the warfare that comes with it. A crash can include being weepy, which was where I was early this morning.
I prayed through it, got to the airport, was processed through security and customs, boarded the plane, sat down.
This message was in my face on the screen on the back of the seat in front of me:
“Let yourself slow down awhile” hit home. Long sigh. It feels good to wind down after the morning rush. During the 3-hour flight I read a little, napped. After landing, going through customs and grabbing my luggage, I went to a café in Heathrow, got a cup of oatmeal and a coffee, and sat down in the back. Classical instrumental music was playing, mainly with a piano and stringed instruments such as the violin and cello. Even though I was in a busy airport, being in the back of the cafe blunted the noise outside. For the next hour I unwound, let everything go. I didn’t open my laptop to check email, no sending or receiving texts, no phone calls. I soaked in the music; classical music helps lower the heart rate and blood pressure. (Funny how so many churches, which are supposed to be houses of prayer – which requires silence and focus – fire up the worship bands at full volume and expect their flocks to be sensitive to the Spirit).
It’s okay to rest.
Some of you need to hear this.
It’s okay to ignore your phone after it chirps when a text arrives, or when a call comes in. Being available 24/7 has hardwired us with the expectation that we must respond immediately. I’ve been in the presence of friends who, when a call came in, immediately grabbed their phone and went off on a long conversation, or they went head-down and responded to a text. This 24/7 hardwiring has overclocked our nervous systems so we can’t relax or unwind. What is all this screen obsession doing to our soul?
Can you ignore your phone for an hour? Or longer? Let checking email go for awhile? Can you pray for an hour straight without twitching or going through withdrawls? Can you rest?
It’s okay to avoid the news. These days what we call news isn’t really news, but entertainment journalism, slanted to promote the media company’s bias. The 24/7 news cycle is toxic to the soul, and not just from the secular side. Today I received a Christian email newsletter with topics that included abortion, the mutilation of children, Christians killed in the middle east, and mothers who kill their children. One can ingest all the trauma they want in several seconds. We do well to take baby doses of the news if we value our soul.
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
Psalm 131:1-2
It’s good to allow our soul to detox, breathe, unwind.
It’s good to take a break from social media, that highly addictive, crack cocaine of the 21st century.
It’s good to rest.
Those who grew up in abusive homes may struggle with rest if they haven’t learned to live with their guard down. So may driven, type A personalities. (I raise my hand in both cases). Slow down? More like crash and burn. Thankfully, God has taught me a lot about the imperative to rest.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.”
Psalm 23:1-3a
The screen-addicted may feel guilty for not answering calls, texts, or emails immediately. Let me put you at ease: It’s okay to wait, set it aside, reply later. Especially if you’re with someone. Parents, your kids are watching you for cues here. One of the most pathetic sights I see is when a family or couple are together and they’re all on their phones.
I’m not talking about when you’re at work and those communication avenues are a part of your job. It’s when you’re off the clock, or are supposed to be, when it’s a problem. Like when you’re with your spouse or family. Or alone with God.
Slow down, stop. Take a break from the crazy-go-round and get your bearings.
And always, pray.
It’s good for our heart when we take a walk, listen to non-stimulating music, enjoy creation, take a break, and rest in silence with God.
Then, after we’ve rested, we continue to pour our lives out until the end; broken bread and poured out wine, as Oswald Chambers put it.
“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people.”
– Titus 3:8
