Rest

I was reading my Bible Monday at the lake and noticed a huge mistake in Scripture. WHAT? Just follow me here... Everyone knows that morning comes first, and then evening follows. Right? But there it was in black and white. Genesis 1:5 reads, "and there was evening, and there was morning."

Of course, it was no mistake. Somehow, God started with evening – a time of rest – and a day's productivity came out of that.

We live in a culture where rest is often viewed in a negative light. When we work, we work hard. When we play, we play hard. We know how to fill our time with e-mail, activities, carpooling, cleaning, aerobics, and our to-do list. Our focus is work all day, and then eventually rest.

Daily problems present themselves to me. I often find myself saying, "I don't have time for these problems today! But unfortunately our problems don't consult our schedules. My life changed as I put aside a lot of things I once thought were absolutely vital while going through some growing pains this week. Funny, but one thing that came out of this difficult week is a new list of priorities. The first? To balance my life.

I learned how to climb between the sheets yesterday afternoon and put aside my worries. To rest my body and my mind. To slow down when life becomes crazy and weigh what is important, and what is not. I began to see evening as the first part of my day. From rest, sprang this morning.

It's a concept that changed my life. Not just physically, but also spiritually. Recently I had two speaking events sandwiched together. As the date approached, my time with my Heavenly Father became "evening." Of course I prepared, but spiritual time came first all week. The morning I was supposed to speak, I closed the door of my room and listened to the heart of my Father instead of going over my notes. And out of that rest, sprang a confidence to speak and allowed me to talk to young girls struggling. I was refreshed and filled by His presence, instead of my efforts.

How often do we run out of steam because we are out of balance? I wish that I could say that I became forever balanced. But I'm not. There are times that I have to slow it down and reconsider my priorities all over again. And if physical rest or spiritual rest has been pushed to last place, I have to put it all on the table and let God help me sort through it so I can put "evening" back where it belongs.

Lord, when I push You to last place, I miss out on hearing Your voice. When I keep going until I drop, I get all tangled up in my to-do list. I know that life is busy, but help me to discern between what is important, and what is not. Reorganize my life, and reveal true rest that only comes from You.