We live in a culture that praises stress and busyness, as though those are the ideals that we need to attain: to be as busy as possible, as stressed as possible. You are praised if your calendar is completely full without a minute to spare; if your mind is going a million different directions at once and you suffer from multiple breakdowns a day. Why is this a good thing?
As someone who not only is interested in mental health but also a follower of Jesus, it drives me nuts sometimes to live in this twisted culture, where rest is regarded as laziness and stress as strength- a pillar of endurance. Especially among college students, the category I fall under, the busier you are, the more chance you have of going somewhere in life, of being someone.
What if we were all just rushing around in circles, instead of actually making progress like we seem to think we are? What if all this chaotic busyness, overstimulation, stress and burnout were actually hindering our potential to be who we truly want to be, who we were made to be?
God never says anywhere in His Word to keep every last minute of your day occupied. Nope, instead He invites us to rest. He invites us to be people of rest, and people who invite others to rest. When we are swarming around trying to get more things done in a day than should be done in an entire year, we are inviting others to do the same. We are sending the message that you are not good enough unless you are doing something, being productive, working towards your future…etc. And we are sending that message to ourselves.
Once you realize that you have value apart from what you do, simply in who you are, you no longer have rush around and be stressed out all time. You begin to be more intentional about how you spend your time, who you spend it for. You get more done by doing less. Your priorities are rearranged and you see how much time you’ve wasted on meaningless things. Ask God for eyes to see. I have and He has shown me how much of the things I used to care about and spend so much time on are hollow, empty pleasures- distractions from Him. His way is a simple way, a way that doesn’t even require anything from us besides obedience and trust. If we’ll say yes to Him, we can finally let go of all the things that have been sucking our souls dry and see that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:29). He will show us how to spend our time, and He will also allow us to rest, because rest is critical for rejuvenating our souls and our relationship with Christ.
So stop spinning your wheels and get to know our Father. He has so much better for you.
rhythms of grace 