People ask us all the time, “How do you do everything you do?” Ummmm? Ministry. Kids. Family. All the things. Life is busy for all of us these days. Who else lives tired?
“For this purpose I work, striving constantly in reliance upon the strength of Him who is mightily working in me, empowering me.”
Colossians 1:29 (tnt)
This verse can either be encouraging or discouraging, depending on how you look at it. Work. Striving. Constantly.
There are two ways to interpret this verse. Which way do you see it?
Striving constantly
You can relate the word constantly with the word striving. And striving means to make great effort, struggle, to fight vigorously. Some people read this and think it means they have to constantly be working day and night. Does that describe you?
“I’m constantly striving for Jesus. I can’t sit down. I’ve got to do, do, do! No rest for the weary. I’d rather burn out for Jesus than rust out.”
And if you do sit down for a minute, you feel guilty because you SHOULD be doing something, so it isn’t even restful.
But God is still the God who created the Sabbath. He gave His people an entire day to rest as a gift. He’s still the One who rested on the seventh day, not because He was exhausted, and it wasn’t because creation drained Him and He ran out of power and needed to recharge.
He rested to show us how.
Even Charles Finney said, “No revival can last if the workers do not learn to rest.”
Constantly in reliance upon
The other way to interpret what the apostle Paul is saying here is to connect the word constantly to being in reliance upon Jesus. Personally, I think this is what he meant.
“Yes, I work. I even strive vigorously. But I don’t do it in my own strength. The only effective way to work is in constant reliance upon the strength of Jesus who is mightily at work in me and who empowers me constantly.”
paraphrase Colossians 1:29
Paul did everything he did by maintaining a constant connection with Jesus. He did it by constantly and continually relying on His strength in him.
Paul worked. He sure did. But he also rested. If you read Acts 14, you will read about his vast travels, but it ends with, “And they stayed there with the believers for a long time.”
That’s it. Nothing to really write about. He worked and then he rested.
If you haven’t rested in a long time or feel guilty for sitting down and are constantly striving, here is your permission slip to take a break.
Schedule a day off.
Sleep.
Go golfing.
Have lunch with a friend.
Read a book.
Bake a cake.
Stare at the wall.
Watch paint dry.
The demands of life can be so overwhelming that we forget it’s okay to rest. We need a reminder. I need a reminder. So here it is.
God doesn’t expect us to be constantly striving. He wants us to be constantly connected to Him. And if we never hear Him calling us into rest, it might be because we’re so busy we’re not listening. Ouch! Help us Lord.
Do something that refreshes your soul today and refuse to feel guilty about it. Let Him lead you into rest.
Psalm 23:2-3 (nlt)
2 He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
3 He renews my strength.
