Sometimes I don’t know a place of rest when I come upon it, and the Lord, knowing the season and environment, and knowing how much I need it and how good it will be for me, has to make me take advantage of the moment--and rest.
I can probably speak for many of us in the church tech world when I say that our current “forced pause” has been sort of a surreal feeling.
We’re used to always running around, prepping for countless events, and having a never ending list of things we need to tackle at the first sign of a break in the action.
But now, with many of us having no choice but to slow down and redefine our “normal,” it’s sort of an odd experience to know that we’re unable to address many of the things on our previously important to-do list.
And while at some level, there is certainly a sense of loss for the things that we’d be unable to accomplish, I feel that there is certainly plenty of benefit to this season, and we must make the choice to see that perspective.
Just last week, I was reminded of how the songwriter, in Psalm 23, writes that the Lord “makes” me lie down in green pastures.
Just last week, I was reminded of how the songwriter, in Psalm 23, writes that the Lord “makes” me lie down in green pastures. In essence, sometimes I don’t know a place of rest when I come upon it, and the Lord, knowing the season and environment, and knowing how much I need it and how good it will be for me, has to make me take advantage of the moment--and rest.
Now, to be clear, I firmly believe that God did not cause this pandemic. But, I also firmly believe that he’s a God of redemption, and can (and will) bring good out of any and every circumstance that could be used to harm me.
But sometimes, I have to look a bit harder to find that benefit, because on the surface, it may seem like there’s not one to be found.
I think that, if we allow it, this can be a season for us to find some much needed rest and redefine priorities and focuses for our lives, both at work and at home.
Here are three key areas we can all fine-tune as we pause, pray, and reset.
1-Redefining Priorities
When we have lost our ability to choose, it’s amazing how easy it is to really define what’s important and what needs our main energy and focus.
But, amidst the normal busyness of life, it can also be so easy to go-go-go that we just run from one thing to the next, caught up in a cycle of productivity and taking other (very important) things for granted.
For some of us, maybe the best takeaway from this season is that it helps us to remember how special and important our families and close relationships are.
I think that, if we allow it, this can be a season for us to find some much needed rest and redefine priorities and focuses for our lives, both at work and at home.
When we have no choice but to scale back on our interactions, and only spend time with our immediate families due to quarantines or “shelter in place” orders, this can be a golden opportunity for us to “fall in love” all over again with the special-ness of that group.
Sometimes, those closest to us are the ones that we end up hurting the most, and for those of us with strong work ethics and internal drives to succeed, those feelings can end up carrying more weight than the feelings and needs of our families back home.
How much of a blessing, then, to have little to focus on other than strengthening family bonds and making memories? Of taking what could be a scary and life-altering situation and choosing to find ways to make it fun and memorable?
For those of us who might be single, perhaps this season is one in which we realize that, without having an all-encompassing ministry role to hide behind, we are actually lacking in close relationships and we finally realize that we need to prioritize building more. That although I may love my ministry job because of its level of fulfillment, it really isn’t a good thing to isolate and be alone, and I really do need the interactions of others to help provide a level of emotional support.
Even on the work front, this is a prime time to prioritize where our focus and energy goes.
How often are we willing to work hours and hours just to take something from 98% to 99%, knowing that while the audience may never notice that extra investment, I have a sense of perfectionism that burns inside and compels me to neglect my sleep, health, and relationships just to make that incremental improvement?
It reminds me of a great acronym from Pastor Craig Groeschel: GETMO, or “Good Enough To Move On.”
Now that I don’t have the luxury of spending hours and hours on tiny details or personal pet projects, and I’m forced to only do the bare necessities of ministry, is this a chance to reexamine my workload and project list to see what truly matters?
Am I investing way too much time in things that may be important to me, but really don’t carry weight in the big picture of my ministry? Am I expending too much energy on things that no one but me will ever really notice, when I should be understanding that it’s OK to leave things short of being 100% perfect?
2-Resetting Boundaries
Once I have been able to refocus on my priorities, it allows me to then redefine what boundaries need to exist.
Perhaps, as noted above, it’s become too easy for me to neglect my family or personal relationships because of the extra time I feel I need to spend at work. If so, this may be a great time to work with my family to help redefine some parameters of when I’ll be home each day of the week (obviously knowing that some nights can have varying schedules due to unforeseen events).
Maybe I need to be OK knowing that I can leave a project half-finished and can come back fresh tomorrow to pick it up where I left off, instead of feeling compelled to stay past midnight to get it done.
This could then be a good opportunity to have a conversation with my ministry leaders so we can redefine where our energy needs to go as a church....
Or, knowing now where the critical essentials are for my ministry, maybe it can become easier to implement some sort of filter I can use to process the numerous requests that come my way each week for content creation, production event support, etc.
This could then be a good opportunity to have a conversation with my ministry leaders so we can redefine where our energy needs to go as a church, making sure we are all unified behind one vision, instead of multiple ministries having their own (and sometimes competing) visions.
After all, it’s not sustainable to say yes to everything, and each ministry needs to know that the answer to their problem isn’t always an announcement video.
But by scaling back on our output and redefining our ministry priorities, we can help every team ultimately get better, because it creates better odds of a unified vision and approach.
3-Reprioritizing the Sabbath
When my priorities have been redefined, and I’ve refocused on having the right boundaries in place, I now have the ability to re-prioritize what my Sabbath needs to be.
I’m sure many of us are used to dealing with ministry needs and requests during all hours of the day, every day of the week. For some, we may still be tackling that even now, because limited teams and resources are requiring extra energy output on our behalf.
Remember, keeping a day of rest was on the same list as not committing murder and adultery, so in God’s eyes, it’s just as big of a deal.
But God can redeem it all. And maybe this can be a wake up call of the importance of regularly making time to take that breather and finding some rest.
When we are focused on the right priorities and we’re willing to have the right boundaries in place, it becomes easier to have a conversation with our leaders so they know the parameters I need to protect a Sabbath.
Remember, keeping a day of rest was on the same list as not committing murder and adultery, so in God’s eyes, it’s just as big of a deal.
Taking that day of rest gives us a chance to recharge our batteries, both by resting our bodies and minds, but also by engaging in activities (hobbies, relationships, spiritual activities, etc.) that bring fulfillment and rejuvenation to our spirits.
Without regularly taking that time, we become depleted, running on fumes. And just like a car that is constantly redlining, we’ll eventually burn out, as well, because there’s nothing to keep the engine running in a healthy manner.
It’s likely that many of us have dealt with or are currently dealing with some level of burnout because we may not be prioritizing the idea of a Sabbath rest. In that case, I encourage all of us to remember how the Good Shepherd would “make” his sheep lie down when they needed it.
Perhaps we all are in need of a rest and a season to step back to refocus our lives on the right things.
No season is wasted, and it can all be redeemed. But let’s commit to doing our part in asking God what we need to redefine and re-prioritize in our lives, so we, our families, and our ministries can come out of this season even stronger.