All this week we have been talking about rest. Remember rest is an invitation. Not just an obligation. But I will add a caveat to that. If we don’t take up the invitation now, if we continue to run at a frenetic speed or at a pace that our bodies were not designed to live at, rest may become obligation later. Anxiety, relational issues or health concerns could find you lying flat on your back, wishing you had taken up the invitation to rest earlier. I don’t say that to scare you. I just say it as a reality, so take up the invitation to invest in rest now and live the returns for years to come.
I’ve been sharing with you our rest model, just a small acronym that we use to help weary leaders all over the world. retreat, encouragement, and safety all provide the avenues to the last letter of our acronym and that’s T for transformation.
Now if you’ve ever moved in any type of transformative experience, you know that it takes time. Transformation rarely happens overnight. If you’ve ever tried to get in shape, learn a new skill or address your personal finances you know that not only takes time, but it’s very compelling why.
That’s why for me transformation starts with asking Better questions. You can’t tell someone to transform. You have to lead them into it. And that includes leading ourselves.
What, I’m about to share with you around the idea of transformation, especially as it pertains to the concept of rest, are 6 areas that are powerful reflections. Typically these are used for an extended annual retreat a quarterly couple of days away. But we’ve designed them to be used on a daily or weekly basis as well. I find myself going through these different areas at various intervals through the week. These are questions I just ask myself around six different areas that I have literally begin to transform my own life.
In addition, they’re fantastic questions to ask family, friends and associates in the marketplace as it begins to spark, beautiful conversation. For those of you that wrestle sometimes with sharing your faith in the marketplace, these questions can be easy entry ways into having meaningful dialogue around practical life issues that might open doorways into REALlife with others.
so here are the six areas with some questions around each one. And as you’ll see, they are presented in a very particular order
REST:
What does regular rest look like in your life, especially in this season of UN-rest. Describe it. How has it been modeled for you? Let me get real personal…How much sleep are you getting? How much do you need? if everyone’s tired then maybe we’re missing out on much needed sleep. We are all unique but scientifically between 7-9 hours is how you were designed. Often times in our work cultures, annd our endless pursuits, we don’t give our bodies enough time to sleep. Is there any guilt that’s associated with sleep? how has rest been taught in church? How would biblical rest impact your current and future story?
If you make too many withdraws on your physical rest, without enough deposit, you will find yourself broke.
Explain.
REPENTANCE:
I put repentance after good rest simply for the fact that again, you’re not you when you’re tired. When you approach repentance with a tired heart, it may sound angry or irritable. When you’ve had good sleep, and your body has had the opportunity to shut down for a bit, repentance is so much more gracefilled and so much more genuine.
What is biblical repentance? What areas in your life needs repentance? (Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? He who has a clean hands and a pure heart.) Who in your family or church or workplace have you potentially offended? Who do you need to ask for forgiveness? Who in those spheres do you need to forgive? How can you best lead your family in repentance?
RESTORING RHYTHMS:
How would you describe your current rhythm? What would your wife or family say? What biblical rhythms need to be restored in your life? such as prayer, Bible, reading, or Sabbath? How has/is this particular season busyness impacting your intimacy with God? What practical steps can you take to restore rhythm to your life? Who is helping do just that?