I went to blog the other day and my laptop was dead. I had an exciting thing I had learned but God had other plans because I couldn’t get on to blog and I had forgotten it by the time I could pick up my laptop. But that’s not really relevant. I had plugged it in and walked away for a few hours. I came back ready to blog and my laptop was still dead. I changed the charging cord and block and went to bed. I woke up the next morning and it was STILL DEAD. I used my phone charger to check the outlet. My computer may be older but it holds a charge. I was stumped. I grabbed the original charger it came with and it began to charge.

God has to smack me in the face because He knows I won’t always be slow enough or still enough to hear Him. Nor do gentle nudges usually work. I suddenly felt like this charger was a parallel to my life.

We run around with our tanks on empty. Almost everyone (including myself) replies with “I’m tired” when asked how they are doing. The more you listen, the more you really notice that it’s a pandemic of exhaustion plaguing people. We have a dead battery. We are sluggish. We are grumpy. We are… lazy. Let’s call it what it is. We seek distraction in phones or the tv or social media. We sit in our chairs consumed by distraction for an attempt to find rest.

First of all. Laziness is a sin that we disguise as rest. James 4:17 says “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is a sin for them. Proverbs 18:9 ” He who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer”. Proverbs 10:4 “lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth”. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “If anyone will not work, neither let him eat”. Proverbs 19:15. Romans 12:11. Proverbs 6:11. 1 Timothy 5:8

Yes, these are cherry picked. But hear me out. We are called to go. We are called to live like Jesus did. Jesus did rest but He was not wasteful with His time. When we are idle, we distance ourselves from Him and His desires for our lives. Matthew 25:14-29 is a parable about three men given shares of their master’s fortune. The first one doubled it. The second one increased it. The third one buried it in the ground. He was reprimanded for not making it work. And the world tells us we are entitled to “me time”. We are allowed to be selfish because we earned it.

When we seek to be recharged by things that don’t bring us back to the King, we find ourselves still exhausted. Still empty. Still longing for me time. The phones and screens and apps are like using a broken charger in hopes to charge a laptop. The power source is good. It hasn’t changed. We just used the wrong things to give us the energy from the source that can give it.

Matthew 11:28 says “Come to me (being God) all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”.

God is inviting us to come and sit as His feet. To come be in His presence so that we can be filled with His love and His spirit. Spend time in worship. Spend time in prayer. Spend time in the Bible. Spend time doing something that serves others. Spend time using your gifts that He gave you. Actual rest isn’t a chore. It’s not a demand. It doesn’t leave you empty. It’s FOR YOU.

And it’s a conviction for me too.

So I’m logging off to play games with my kids and go dig in my garden and read and worship. Because it’s how we find rest…

Under The Sun.