Advent-ure December 17: Rearrange Our Priorities

In Hebrews chapter 4, we find words of encouragement to experience God's rest, which is something that we're told we actually "enter" into:
10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.

The disobedience referred to here has to do with the children of Israel and their wandering from the ways of God.  That can be avoided when we stay grounded in truth, and that's where verse 12 comes in:

12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Word of God renews our minds and brings life to our souls.  It is spiritual food that can nourish us in our inner being.  God wants us to come to Him and experience His rest, so that we may be well-equipped for whatever we may face, and that we can face the challenges of life with a sense of His presence, giving us the right attitude.

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We are now on Day 17 of our 25-day Christmas Advent-ure, called, Around the World in 25 Days! It's the Faith Radio Advent Guide, highlighting Christmas traditions around the world.  We stay in Asia today and focus on the nation of Japan, where Christmas is more like, well...Valentine's Day!  That's according to the website, KidsAreATrip.com, which reports on a "couples-"type celebration, and informs us that traditional family gatherings feature Fried Chicken and Christmas Cake.

The corresponding Scripture passage is from Ephesians 5:
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

We have to be so protective of our marriage relationships - if we're not careful, there will be other activities and priorities that will supersede our spouses; we have to stay grounded in our love for the Lord and for the one whom He has called to us to be wed to.

The Christian Post had an article recently about a Washington, DC-area pastor, a progressive pastor named Howard-John Wesley, who announced that he would be taking a break.  He is currently unmarried, and I would dare say that he and I would occupy a different, well, theological space, yet, some of his guiding principles on this topic of rest can be instructive for all of us.

According to the article:

“From January 1 (2020) to April 1. I am walking away from every responsibility I have as pastor,” Wesley announced in his sermon on Dec. 1.

“You can’t pour out of an empty cup. It is very dangerous for your pastor to be on empty,” he told congregants. “I need to take care of me.”

He further noted that: “I’m tired. And I’m tired in a way that one night of sleep ain’t gon’ fix. I’m tired in my soul.”

This came at the end of a sermon called, "Selah," dealing with rest.  He said:

“The enemy in an attempt to block your holiness, wants to remove rest from your life and push you back into slavery. And here is the greatest deception of the devil – to convince you that the busier you are the more important you are. That the more you got to do, the more high up on the food chain you are. That if you’re working yourself to the bone somehow you are glorifying God. And God says you are not being holy if you don’t know how to rest..."

He encouraged congregants to make sure they use up all their annual vacation days. Wesley stated:
"...the word to somebody today is if you really want to be holy you gotta learn how to rest."

In a season where we celebrate how God rearranged human history by becoming a man and interrupting the status quo, we can think about how we may have to take the occasion to rearrange our priorities, for the sake of our individual lives and the lives of our families, including our marriages.  FamilyLife is sponsoring a marriage getaway in Montgomery on Valentine's Day weekend next year at the Embassy Suites - you can learn more through our website or go to WeekendToRemember.com.

The Christmas season does give us the chance for rest, if we use our time properly.  Certainly, there is plenty of busyness to go around, yet, we can savor the moments that God gives us and take time for ourselves and our families - to strengthen and enjoy relationships, including the one with our Heavenly Father.

Now, rest is not only a lack of activity, although that is a part of it.  But, as Hebrews 4 teaches us, we can actually enter His rest, which implies that we can take measures to reduce stress and anxiety, to allow the Spirit of God to refresh us, and to draw near to our Lord.