Stop and Rest..

6-5-2013 : 

This morning, I finished working at 7:30am and arrived at my apartment around 8 in the morning.. Usually, I sleep till 4pm, but today, i woke up earlier than usual, about 2pm.. I couldn't sleep anymore so I decided to take my daily devotion and read an article by Joe Stowell.. Such a beautiful reminder and I believe it will just 'hit the spot' perfectly in some areas of your life too.. Again, I will add several stories from my own experience ya.. Happy reading!
________________________________________________________

LIFE IS A BUSY ENTERPRISE IN SOME POINTS.. IT SEEMS THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE THINGS TO DO, PLACES TO GO, AND PEOPLE TO MEET..

WITHOUT REALIZING IT SOMETIMES, OUR BUSY LIFE CAN ROB US OF THE QUIETNESS THAT WE NEED..

When we're driving a car, stop signs and other signs warning us to slow down. We can called those as REMINDERS to be safe. We can't have our foot on the accelerator all the time. Admit it or not, it works the same for our activities also.

The Psalmist clearly knew THE IMPORTANCE OF TIMES OF CALM AND QUIET.

GOD HIMSELF 'RESTED' ON THE SEVENTH DAY. YOU CAN ALSO READ IT HERE :

+) Matthew 14 : 13a = "When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place". 

*) He knew IT WAS NOT WISE to accelerate through life with our gas gauge registering on 'WEARY' all the time.

+) PSALM 131 : 2 SAID 'I HAVE CALMED AND QUIETED MY SOUL, LIKE A WEANED CHILD WITH HIS MOTHER ; LIKE A WEANED CHILD IS MY SOUL WITHIN ME'.

- QUESTION = WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU COULD ECHO THE PSALMIST'S WORDS, "I HAVE CALMED AND QUIETED MY SOUL LIKE WORDS ABOVE?

Some say, it's better to be busy than have nothing to do at all.. I agree! It's good if you have something to do right now.. You study, you work, try hard to achieve your dreams, you serve others, etc. You can mention all your activities here..

However, human sometimes can forget that busy lifestyle, if you let it to be like that for a long time, it can take over your whole time and the LIFE ITSELF.. It's alright to be busy, but too busy until you don't have time for yourself and HIM, I guess it's totally a wrong thing..

When I have days off, usually I meet some friends. We watch movie and eat together, walking around the street or just sharing stories about life.. Nevertheless, I always have spare time for myself too.. I called it as 'ME TIME'. I do something that I really like (beside hospitality indeed, I do have other hobbies too,lol), I read some books at Starbuck (my fave. cafe for all time), drinking the my favourite drink (chocolate indeed), eat some brownies (it's chocolate again), listening to music with my mp4, and just look at the people that pass by.. In here, believe it or not, sometimes I go to the cinema and watching movie ALONE.. You can say I'm a loner in some points, haha!

And in that time, when it's just me, another good thing is I can have quality time with my God.. Just talking to Him in my heart while walking, sharing my stories to Him while reading, praising Him with my tiny little voice while listening to the music.

THE POINTS ARE =

1. HUMAN WILL ALWAYS NEEDS (A/SOME) TIME TO REST.. WHOEVER, WHEREVER, AND WHENEVER YOU ARE.. REST IS A MUST..
- People sometimes, without realizing it, can push her/himself too hard to achieve something or to gain something that they really want. They forget that this body, mind, and soul somehow need rest.
- Remember this : pushing yourself is good because human need to be pushed also in some areas.. It's also a part of SELF ENCOURAGEMENT.. But, pushing yourself TOO HARD UNTIL YOU FORGET about the importance of resting is absolutely not right. Perhaps, it will make your condition and things that you've planned even worse if you force yourself too much.

2. HUMAN NEEDS TIME FOR HER/HIMSELF..
- I find that sometimes life has its own reason to make human do things that they actually don't really like. Somehow, we need to accept it. But still, you yourself need to do things that you really love.. Doing things that you really passionate about is also part of resting your mind, body, and soul.
- I believe each person will always have time when they don't have anything to do at all in 1 day or 1 week at least. The problem is most people usually ONLY WAIT until they do have spare time. Do you know that there are things in this life that you must create yourself instead of waiting all the time? Once again, busy lifestyle can make people forget about resting. Therefore, it's actually gonna be better if you CREATE TIME to rest for a while from your daily routine.. Refreshed yourself! Resting doesn't mean you sleep all the time too lho yaa. Please don't get me wrong. Hahhaha.. There are many forms of resting that you can do.. :)

3. HUMAN NEEDS TIME FOR HER/HIMSELF AND GOD.. TIME FOR BOTH OF YOU ONLY!
- I don't really have words for this since every individual has his/her own experience and outcome in this point. What I can guarantee is if you do create time for Him and yourself, it will affect your everything from the inside first.. And if the inside is right, what comes out from your mouth, your action, and your perspective will be set right too.. To become more positive and calm person.

+) Mark 6 : 31b = “COME WITH ME BY YOURSELVES TO A QUIET PLACE AND GET SOME REST.”

- Like me, I worry about lots of things sometimes.. Knowing that the people whom I respect and love anxious, can make me confuse.. Then I will finally become distracted too..  (1)See, circumstances can affect an individual in so many ways.. (2) Humans always have their own concern about several things in their life and they can make them worry or at least produce self-confusion.. Those 2 are INEVITABLE.. Even if someone has the biggest faith in the world, there will be A TIME when you worry or have many things going on in your mind..

**) Thus, time between you and your Creator is actually A REMINDER..

a) A REMINDER THAT YOU HAVE HIM STAND BY YOU
b) A REMINDER TO COME TO HIM AND CAST ALL YOUR WORRIES
c) A REMINDER THAT HE HAS YOU IN THE PALMS OF HIS HANDS
d) A REMINDER THAT YOU ARE THE APPLE OF HIS EYES
e) A REMINDER THAT HE WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU
f) A REMINDER THAT IF HE LETS SOMETHING HAPPEN IN YOUR LIFE, HE'S SURELY HAS WONDERFUL PURPOSE AND REASON ALSO
g) A REMINDER TO LET HIM BE HIM.. LET GOD BE GOD
h) A REMINDER TO BE STILL AND JUST REST
i) A REMINDER THAT HE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU

##) KNOWING THIS MY FRIEND = RESTING IS ACTUALLY THE MOST EFFORTLESS AND SIMPLEST ACT OF FAITH THAT HUMAN CAN DO BUT ALSO THE EASIEST THING THAT CAN BE FORGOTTEN. 

* IF YOU FEEL THAT YOU'RE ALREADY TOO BUSY IN THESE TIMES, I WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO PUT A STOP SIGN AT THE INTERSECTION OF YOUR BUSY LIFE. YOU ARE THE BEST PERSON TO KNOW WHEN TO REST.

* FIND A PLACE TO BE ALONE FOR A WHILE. TURN OFF THE DISTRACTION THAT MAKE A DISTANCE BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR CREATOR. SHARE WHAT YOU WANT, LISTEN TO HIS WORDS AND JUST BE STILL.

##) "LIFE CAN MAKE ALL OF US WEARY AND STRESSED AT TIMES. HENCE, STOP SIGN IS A DEFINITE NEED FOR HUMAN. DO NOT JUST WAIT, BUT TAKE TIME TO QUIET YOUR SOUL BEFORE HIM. REST AND TAKE A BREAK FROM THE BUSYNESS OF LIFE SO THAT YOU CAN REFUEL YOUR SOUL".

Regards, Cindy