Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed. And they stayed there with the believers for a long time. (Acts 14:26, 28 NLT)
Do you ever feel just kind of Meh? Blah? A let down? Maybe at the end of a great vacation (or even a not-so-great vacation…..it’s still vacation, right?). Isn’t that drive home such a bummer? Real life calls, and you feel such a let down? Anyone?
That’s how I feel right now……I miss Joseph. I love his story. I love what I’ve learned from his life, and at times, I’ve felt like I was living it. And when I sat down to write tonight, all I could think was…bummer. So what do you do at the end of something exciting? What do you when you just feel blah?
If you read Acts 13 and 14, you will see Paul went on a missionary journey and saw some amazing stuff. Among other things, a paralyzed man was healed and walked. Paul was stoned and left for dead, but God raised him back up and he went on to the next city. Masses came to know Christ. They saw amazing displays of God’s power. Those were some incredible highs!
And then what? Acts 14:28 was then what. “And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.” I wonder if they felt a little blah — or have that “Now What?” that we can all feel when a chapter closes in our lives. What did they do when the rush was over? They rested.
The Bible is not a COMPLETE history of the church in the first century. It’s like the highlight reel we watch on Sunday nights of the football games that were played that day — hours and hours of football wrapped up in a 5-minute clip! You just see the noteworthy plays. They don’t show you the hum-drum plays or the ones that were just kind of blah.
The book of Acts shows us the highlights…..the “stuff to write home about,” so to speak. Once his trip was over, Paul just went about his life. Nothing major…..nothing “to write home about”……..he probably made a few tents and had dinner with friends, studied and taught… and rested……just the hum-drum everyday life…..for a long time.
In our day and age, rest is not on the top of our priority list — or in the top 10 — or on the list at all! And we run from hum-drum. I think partly because a lot of us find our value in what we DO, and if we aren’t DOING anything we feel we have no value…….so “there is no rest for the weary.” (But that is a conversation for another day.)
We need rest, and that’s a fact, Jack! Don’t disdain the mundane. In my experience, those boring, mundane times — what we do in between the highs — don’t last long. And if we don’t manage those mundane days well, we’ll be too burnt out to move the next time. So embrace them! Take a deep breath! Enjoy every day life! It’s okay to get some rest…It’ll do wonders for you!
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11:28-30 Message)