Rest up for what is to come.

Posted on November 19, 2008 12:00 AM MST by Tiffany Kinerson

“In vain you rise early and stay up late...for He grants sleep to those He loves.” Psalm 127:2

A while back, we found out about a free concert by one of our favorite bands, Building 429. Since the price was right, we’d get to bring our boys with us to a cool concert. Finally. We were all so excited. The only problem was the concert would keep them up past their bedtime. Add to that the fact that it was at a church across the city, and we knew we’d have them in bed no earlier than midnight. Pretty tough on a Kindergarten and First-grader. But it would be worth it, if only for them to catch a glimpse of the worship we’ll see in heaven.

The afternoon of the concert, we decided our best plan of action was to give the boys a nap so they could actually enjoy the outing. So at 2:30, cover, kiss, good-nap, the boys were in bed for some rest. At 3:00, giggle, whisper, bang, the boys had not gone to sleep, yet. At 3:30, shuffle, flush, talk, the boys were still awake. 4:30? Rustle, wiggle, laugh, they were determined not to rest up for their big night.

We took them anyway. And the music was great, Building 429’s mission is so on-par with the Bible. They gave hope, encouragement, and told the mostly teen-aged crowd that they were the first generation ever with the ability to wipe out hunger in the world. Exciting stuff. And, not to mention, the group rocked the house with their music.

But our boys? One lolled face-up across the pew, fighting sleep with everything in him. One got to sit on steps up the side stage, so that was cool, but his movements were lethargic, his face pulled into a sleepy frown. And I knew, when he faced me with tears for no reason, that rest was all he wanted in the midst of the passion around him.

How sad.

But what a picture of the way all our lives can be. God tells us to find rest, He encourages us to sleep (Mark 6:30-32), shows us the wisdom in Sabbath-izing our lives (Matthew 11:28), taking a break in Him. Then, like children who think silliness is more important than rest, we don’t check our schedules with the Maker, assure that what we are doing is what He wants us to do. In essence, we waste our time with piddly things that eke away at our time and prevent us from the freedom of simple rest.

And then, when God takes us to that moment, a rare pinnacle of absolute, white-hot worship in our life, we can’t even keep our eyes open. Our lips pull down into exhausted tears. “I want to enjoy this, God, but I’m so. Tired.”

I don’t want that to happen in my life. I want to be alert. I want to be ready for all that is great on Earth, this small taste of what is to come. I like how they describe it in the Third Day song, “Slow Down”:

“Tell me to slow down
If you think that the road that I'm on is going nowhere
Tell me to slow down
If you know that I'm going too fast for my own good
Tell me to slow down
If the way is leading to a dead end
Tell me to slow down
Turn around, let me change the way I'm going

“Oh, I don't want to let go
Of all the things that I know
Are keeping me away from my life
Oh, I don't want to slow down
No, I don't want to look around
But I can't seem to work it out
So help me, God

“Tell me to slow down
If you see that I'm running too fast in the wrong race
Tell me to slow down
If you think that I can't keep up with my own pace
Tell me to slow down
'Cause you know if there's ever any question
Tell me slow down
Turn around, and I'm changing my direction”

So, God, will You tell me when to slow down, too?

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