Why Rest Is Obedience

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This is kind of a great thing, and I'll tell you what. Where pop culture, current events, and theology all come together. Seek your mind. And now, here's today's Truth Talk Live host. Do you believe rest is obedience.

Did you hear that? Do you believe rest is obedience? Why do we struggle? To see rest is holy. What would it look like for your soul to have a sabbatical, even if your schedule didn't allow it, right?

Even more so, we would love to hear today on Truth Talk Live: what has God taught you? about rest. What has God taught you about rest? What story comes up in your mind? We would love to hear it.

866-348-7884-866-348. 7884. You know, Dr. Carson, we have Dr. Deep, the word Carson here with us.

We also have Michael Miller, Pastor Michael Miller with us.

So we're excited to get into all that. But I was thinking that, well, we really need to hear. Doctor. Is the rest of the story? We need to hear the rest.

of the story. No doubt about that. And I I I get this completely, like, especially Um I don't know, since I've been in ministry, it does seem to have n it ratcheted it up. Because And I know Michael can relate as a pastor, you know, those calls, they come. Right, and these people are They need somebody, they need him now, and And It's and there's all the other things that you normally have, but you know, people are the the primary thing that you just for me anyway, that like man, I need to help and I need to be available and I need to do the other stuff.

And but if you're available all the time, There's coming a day you won't be available any of the time. Correct.

So again. Why do we struggle to see rest is holy? What has God taught you about rest? As you hear this, I know you had something coming to your mind. We would love to hear it.

866-348-7884-866-34 Truth and Dr. Carson. Yeah. You have the reason why you have Pastor Michael with us today is it's quite a story. Yes.

Well, as we think about that whole idea biblically, From date the word, dealing with a date that's coming up, March the June the 30th. I'm looking at Mark 30, where Jesus is going to tell the disciples that having given a report of what God's been doing, they needed to come apart and rest. Said, get some rest. And so As we were thinking about this subject, get some rest, I thought about my friend Michael Miller. Michael, we want to welcome you to Truth Talk Live today.

Thank you, Duane. I'm glad to be here.

Well, you have a unique story that you at your church Gave a sabbatical and trying to understand. I think there's a lot of confusion about sabbaticals and about getting rest.

So, just curious, getting us started here, tell us your story of where you're at. As far as with the church, what you're doing, but also how a sabbatical fits in. Sure.

Well, so I serve over in Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley in Harrisonburg at Crosslink Community Church as the executive pastor. We are a larger church for the area, a growing church that came from humble beginnings. We were originally a church revitalization project, and I was actually the first full-time staff hire as our lead pastor at the time when I first came to Crosslink, was brought on by the mother church that took over the remnant of the church that was here. And I was the first full-time staff hired. The church was much smaller then.

And it's been a blessing to see God grow and move to where we not only were a church replant, um revitalization, but we have now replanted One church, and it's a year and a half off in the running, and we are getting ready to launch our second church plant this fall.

So No. The work of The ministry means you are very busy. And it's not like Uh Other people are not also busy. Farmers are busy. Doctors are busy.

That's right. Uh When we look at the development of a person, A spiritual person, not just a spiritual leader, we know we have got to have rest. Jesus teaches this.

So how has that played out in your life? And in just a second, we're going to be going to Larry in Ohio because we want to hear his story. But how has rest, just kind of get us started, Michael, how that has become part of what you know has to take place?

Well, I would agree with what you said to start things off. There's great confusion about Rest and even this dynamic of a sabbatical. What is that? How do you take one? How do you have one?

And in ministry, unfortunately, That seems to be a very unhealthy practice. You're always on when you're a pastor and in ministry. And there's a lot of churches and a lot of ministries that don't practice this. And I think it's one of the reasons we see a lot of unhealth among pastors and ministries today.

So, a sabbatical is not an extended vacation. It is not. A time to go get a doctorate and pursue studies or anything like that is a carefully planned time, intentional time away from ministry responsibility. It doesn't mean you're not a pastor anymore, but you're not actively involved in. Pastoral ministry, and whether you're a pastor or a teacher or a stay-at-home mom, you know, whatever the role is, you need.

rest and you need to practice Sabbath. We get the word Sabbath and Sabbatical from the the Hebrew word Sabbat and in Greek, Sabbaton, which means to cease. It is a cessation of activity for a day of rest. And as you were saying, we see Jesus. Uh give this to us as an example.

whether it is an intentional time away after a successful or heavy time of ministry or asleep in the back of the boat. Uh while the storm is raging. Jesus wants us to have a habit of rest and resting, and sometimes it's appropriate to have a season of rest, which is what a sabbatical is. You should have. intentional times of rest daily with the Lord, weekly, monthly, quarterly And then, even once annually, but beyond that, at Crosslink, we give.

A full-time pastor on staff, a sabbatical every five years of ministry, which is anywhere from a month to two months off from ministry activity during the year. Wow, let's take a second and Fit Larry in there.

So, Larry, we appreciate you calling in. We know you're driving, so I wanted to get you as quick as we could.

So, share. Your thoughts. And what has God taught you about rest?

Well, it's nice to hear you guys. I listen to you every day before work, and you're a blessing. Thank you. And if you're not rested, in the Lord, and if you don't have that joy from the Lord, People since that And um Uh if you're not rested You're not joyful, you don't have rest. You don't have the peace, you don't have that smile that And that Holy Spirit.

flowing that people feel And if you're not rested and you're overworked, you're going to be grumpy. You're going to be, you're not going to be your best. I resemble those comments, Larry. Have you had that? Is there a personal experience in your life where that's happened?

Oh yeah. For sure, whenever I lost my grandmothers, you know, it was hard on me and um And when I've lost good people in my life that why Lord and And then you just go into that rest, and God gives you that fun. Larry, can you hang on for us? We gotta go to a break. We want to get a little bit more of that story.

We're going to get back with Michael, Pastor Michael Miller. Of course, we've got a whole lot more, but we need you to call us 866-348-7884. 866-348-7884. What has God taught you about rest? The rest of the story.

Coming back. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Do you believe rest is obedience? Why do we struggle to see rest? is holy.

What would it look like for your soul to have a sabbatical? Even If your schedule doesn't allow it, so what has God taught you about rest? That's we want to hear the rest of your story. 866-348-7884-866-34TRUTH. And we left our hero, Larry.

Larry, you said some stuff that I think is critical to the equation. That was quite intuitive. This idea of joy goes away, right? Right. And, you know, in his presence is fullness of joy.

At his right hand are pleasures forever. More kind of idea is that. Wow, as you start to get tired That distance But it's interesting then you talked about being with him in the morning. And of course, those of us would date the word Carson over here, we know that's part of the equation. But also, then you had just said.

that when you lost your grandmothers, That that's fascinating because it that really affects Our I guess Um Relationship with God in trying to deal with the grief at the same time. And so tell us how God allowed rest in that story to. help you bring that to bring joy back to you.

Well, I'm Blessed to know God personally and with the Holy Spirit, and I allow Him to work in me. all of his Ministries that he provides for us. And that's how I get through it. I just believe in God so much and I believe in the word. I believe every word of the Bible, the promises and the commandments and I take it all.

Was there a particular verse or something that stuck with you through that period of loss with your grandmothers? No Um not per se, maybe just the Yeah. The Lord is my strength. 18. I just rely on that and um I just thank God for his rest that he gives us, the supernatural rest that we may perform for God Services.

Heads were rested. That is so awesome. We would perform 100% better. We would think better. We would do better.

Even the smile. Um I'd know It's a world of senses and people's spiritual warfare, and you can sense if a smile is genuine or not.

Well, if you're not rested, you're not going to have that genuineness of God in you. You're going to be. Hurry up, rush, and that's Chaotic. Fake it till you make it. God doesn't want us to be chaotic.

And He doesn't want us to give that out to people. He wants us to give positive. Um That's so awesome. I love your call. Thank you so much today for calling in.

You're awesome. I appreciate it. Thank you for having me. I appreciate you guys. God bless you.

Have a great day. We got Rob is in Hartford or Hertford, Indiana, but we need you. 866-348-7884. How has God, what has God taught, what has God taught you about rest? 866-348-7884.

Rob, you're on Truth Talk Live. Hello, how are you? I am wonderful. I'm excited to hear what. God has taught you, and I know he's taught me a few things.

Yeah. So A few years ago, I was hovering around the verse where Jesus says that he is Lord of the Sabbath. And at that time was in some Bible studies and things and and Taking a Sabbath day kept coming up.

So, you know, I was praying into this, and what does, you know. For me and where I'm at now a few years After that. Um Every day is a Sabbath. Whether I'm working or serving my family or my church. prior to Jesus coming in the Old Testament, Our rightness with God was based on works, right?

Do I still have you? Yeah, I'm here. I'm processing that statement. I Yeah. the critical part of what God was looking for through all those commandments and that stuff.

You know, the rank and file Jewish person. Oh, they definitely thought that they definitely thought that they're that you're right about that. Yeah, so for me, it was an identity thing. Is my identity in. Um How my relationship with my wife is.

Is my identity in the performance of my kids? Is my identity in how well I do at work? Is my identity in You know, all these other things other than Christ. And once my identity became in Christ, I could rest. I didn't have to achieve the thing.

you know, in order to secure my identity and That's just kind of what REST is. what I've come to in rest. Taking physical rest.

Well, I'm 52 years old, and I still have a great big kid, and I love to play and So that's that's kind of where I'm at with rest. That's awesome. I appreciate it. And I love your name too, Rob. It's got such a ring to it.

Yeah. Anyway, I am so grateful for that. You know, that. That getting away from legalism is Yeah. And it definitely is about relationship.

Yeah. And clearly, you know, the The Lord's leading us and we need to seek that. Jesus said, Come unto me and I will give you rest. And that's the idea: that we're not going to have to struggle day in and day out trying to please. Him at some level.

We can't do it. We rest in what he's done for us.

So, Pastor Michael Miller, I'm curious what you might think for Rob. Yeah, you know. What? I would certainly affirm what he shared, and our identity does need to be in Christ. When When we're not resting, even like how Larry was saying, we're not at our best, and the enemy can creep in where we have allowed cracks in the armor because we're tired, because we're weary, and can speak lies into our life.

And so then we forget that our identity is in Christ. We try to make our identity about ourselves. Another way that I look at rest and stress together is when we have stress in our life, it's because our rests are out of order. If you look at the word rest and stress, you can make the word rest from the word stress with some extra S's. And when we're not resting, we can have more stress.

Um Stress is a normal part of life, and we go through stressful situations too, and we grow from that. When there's too much stress, it can become distress, and that's when we enter into an unhealthy area, which is why rest is so important. And not just sleep, although sleep is great, and we see Jesus, even Jesus take some naps every now and then. I like that too. And the boat is on a pillow, too.

Yeah, I get it.

Sorry, Michael, go on. Continue with your great thoughts here. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that is awesome.

Rob, thank you for your call. That is just wonderful. We're so grateful for you calling in, for listening today. Yeah, I appreciate you guys. I listen to you on my way home almost every day.

Oh, that's awesome. Thank you so much. Keep up the great work.

Well, I know what you're thinking out there. I got a call.

Well, good. 866-348-7884. What has God taught you? What has He taught you about rest? We're trying to hear the rest of the story.

The rest of the story today. We're putting on our Paul Harvey just a little bit. But speaking of the rest of the story, there's a whole lot more to your story, right, Michael? Uh sure.

So I took one of the first sabbaticals here at Crosslink. And really kind of Set the standard and did some research on what a sabbatical would be like here at our church. Um and wrote some content for it for our staff to use again and again and have fine-tuned along the way. I've also done some doctoral work. um on it uh but out of my first sabbatical personally uh the Lord brought me to a passage of scripture during that sabbatical that had hold that thought we got we got to go to a break I hate to break in on you Pastor But I'm dying to hear about this scripture, and I hope all of y'all are going to tune in.

For some of you, you're going to have to go back and listen to the podcast if you can't stay with us. But we'll be right back. You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. Do you believe that rest is obedience? Why do we struggle to see rest as holy?

What would it look like for your soul to have a sabbatical even if your schedule doesn't allow it?

So, what has God. taught you. About rest. We would love to hear that today. Believe me, we'd love to hear it because we all could use lots of tips on these ideas.

866-348-7884. I would love, love, love to have your call. 866-348-7884. And if you want to give us the rest of the story, the idea that tickles me. Nonetheless, with speaking of the rest of the story, Michael, we keep getting you cut off, but here's our moment in the sun.

Go ahead and Trying to get us going here. Yeah. My church offered me the opportunity to take this sabbatical, which was an intended intentional time of rest away from ministry responsibilities. And it was for a little over a month. And I went into it, not at a place of crisis, but I was there was definitely some unhealth.

I was weary from a A significant season of ministry and was looking forward to this. I'd never been on a sabbatical before, never even really heard much about one. And so we set up some expectations and parameters, some goals of what I was going to accomplish because it sounds a little ironic to go into a sabbatical, a time of rest, with an agenda of things to accomplish. But a sabbatical is supposed to be purposeful, and we wanted to make sure that it was worthwhile.

Well, the Lord showed me a passage of scripture. Really, uh, within the first week of being on it, as I had some time alone with him, and it was Jeremiah 6:16. Um I just uh uh the way uh Dwayne has uh taught me with date the word. Um I we just had 616 on Monday, June 16th. Very good.

Well played.

So I shared this Devo as a reminder with our staff as part of staff meeting on Monday. It says The Lord says, Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths. where the good way is and walk in it. and you will find rest your souls. But they said, we will not walk in it.

Of course, this is the Lord speaking to the prophet Jeremiah, and there's the destruction of Jerusalem is impending. The people are being warned, they're living in rebellion, they're not acknowledging the way of the Lord, they're not obeying the law, and of course they're rejecting what Jeremiah was proclaiming and calling them to. And so Jeremiah has this word for the Lord, which is good. And it was just like an explosion went off in my mind as far as. Understanding the significance of rest and what rest in the Lord can get for us.

Um and there's a warning at the end of it uh at the end of that verse But they did not walk in it. they were not listening. And there's a danger in that, that we often all too often succumb to and get ourselves in in a bad place when the when God through Scripture has clearly outlined some practices of rest As well as Jesus giving us his own example of rest for us. And so there's some takeaways from that verse. I don't know if you want me to share them now, if there's another caller.

Oh, yeah, we're good. Keep running. Yeah. But we would like another caller, by the way. We're going to say that.

And since you gave me the opportunity, call us at 866-348-7884. But go ahead. This is intriguing. Jeremiah 6.16, break it down. Yes.

So as we've said, a sabbatical, a ministry sabbatical is a specific period of time to get away with the Lord and focus on hearing from the Lord and being renewed. It's a time of renewal. And so this verse showed me that we need to make time to be quiet in our position. We need to be quiet in our position. Our position in whatever regard that is in life, as a husband, as a father, in our role, at our place of work, vocationally, our ministry role, whether that's volunteer or a staff position in a church.

We need to be quiet in our position. And position also speaks to the fact that in our relationship with the Lord, we need to be asking, we need to be seeking. Um and questioning the path. There's a question inherent within this verse. We need to question the path, what the good way is.

We need to stop and look towards the ancient path. I like to say that sometimes the best way forward is first go backward. Um and we have to look back and examine, you know, where we're at, what God is doing. Um and so there there's a backward way forward uh that is being talked about here. We need to be quick to ponder.

Often we are so quick to act, we are so quick to do, but we also need to be quick to ponder. a sabbatical is a great time to do that because you're already on pause, you're already stopped, you're already disconnected from your day to day responsibilities in ministry. And so that needs to be an activity of a sabbatical is to ponder You know, God's word and listen to what the Lord has to say. We need to quit pretending. we need to quit pretending.

We often, especially those of us in senior ministry and leadership, think we know it all or that we have arrived or we know God's word and we have some experience and so we know what to do. And we pretend that we've got it all together, but inside we're a big stress mess. And there's anxiety. We see an anxiety pandemic all around us. Whether it's in our children or young adults or those that are leaving the ministry.

And so we need to quit pretending and acknowledge who we are and going back to that identity in Christ. Um of waiting on the Lord and looking to him, what is the good way in walking in it? And then we need to you know, as scripture says there in verse We will find rest for our souls. We need time to quicken pursuit of God's glory. Um So th those are the takeaways from that verse because That's really what It is all about.

Our calling in life is to worship the Lord and bring God glory in everything that we do. And so, even in our rest, Or in our ministry activity, or in our parenting, or whatever God has given for us to do vocationally, we need to be. quickening our pursuit of God's glory. Michael, as you work with people, as you teach this, What I find a lot of times is there's a guilt feeling for taking time off. When you're in the Lord's ministry.

or whatever work you're doing, there always seems to be someone. who believes you should be doing more.

someone who is doing more and that competition mindset, comparing one another kicks in. Have you found that to be a danger Maybe an excuse for not getting the proper rest. Absolutely. I mean, it ultimately there's There's a lie of the enemy there, and that leads to an act of disobedience. But we need to rest.

I am at my worst when I'm not resting both physically and spiritually. When if there's been a drift or I'm tempted to operate in the flesh for something, I know I'm not going to be giving my fullest to the Lord. And we're called to that. As we talk about birthday verses with date the word, Duane, you know one of mine very well, and that's Colossians 3, 23. Um And whatever we do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men.

And verse 24, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is Lord Jesus Christ. Christ you serve. We're not going to be able to serve the Lord heartily if we're not rested, both physically and spiritually.

So, one of the things that really intrigued me about your story. was this the the journaling. right that god had put it on your heart to keep a journal as you're going out into this I can imagine that, you know, oh wow, I got all this time. Lord, teach me something along those lines and how did that journal impact the adventure?

Well, it was I mean, I I prayer journal um pretty much every day. And so that that's a practice I've had for a while. And whenever I have that kind of time, even on vacation, that is a shorter time. And in my stage of life, a vacation isn't necessarily a vacation. Vacations aren't restful.

When you're dragging four kids along and packing up the van and unloading the van and you need a vacation for the vacation. Yeah, yeah, I need a vacation. I need a sabbatical from the family vacation. And so but whatever it is, whenever I have that kind of disconnected time where I'm away from ministry responsibility, where I'm always on, and in my position, I'm always on. I'm the implementer, I'm the problem solver.

I've uh everybody's looks to me for, you know, an answer. And um So there's just always a constant engagement. Journaling is a disengagement from the activity of. Daily life, and it allows me to focus on the Lord. And so, whether I'm reading a book, I will journal about that, I'll just journal thoughts as I'm reading scripture.

I will prayer journal, a specific, you know, I'm just writing out my prayer to the Lord. It it focuses your mind. It keeps you from drifting when you're writing. And I handwrite it. I don't type stuff out on the computer because I can easily get distracted there too.

And uh I will write things down to focus my thoughts. And so during the festival. Yeah, during the actual sabbatical, what were things in your journal. you know, was there something along those lines that you felt like help direct you to to something that was insightful.

Well, I don't have my journal from that sabbatical right in front of me, but just a few takeaways from that year's sabbatical were largely related to this verse, which stood out. But an idea that there were there are three kind of ideas that kind of coalesced during that sabbatical and that was replenish uh retreat and rest. And retreat can If you you don't understand the context of the word retreat, it can have a negative connotation, like you're retreating from something and running away from something. In fact, this the my second sabbatical, which was a couple of years ago, And um another verse stood out to me in a powerful way in just it. And this was from my daily reading that I happened to be in during that time.

It wasn't anything Connected to a book or or anything, but I was in Nehemiah and Nehemiah chapter six. Uh verse 11. And uh And this is Nehemiah speaking, but I said, Should a man like me flee, and could one such as I go into the temple to save his life, I will not go in. Oh, we're going to have to get back on that verse when we come back from this break. I can hardly wait to hear us unpack that.

And we got Mike in Dayton, Ohio. We got so much more, but we need you. 866-348-7884. What has God taught you about rest? It's the rest of the story.

You're listening to the Truth Network and TruthNetwork.com. To you believe Rest. is obedience. Why do we struggle to see rest is holy? What has God taught you?

About rest. We would love to hear. Your Ideas on this. I would love to hear your comments or your story, the rest of the story, so to speak. 866-348-3638-3.

7884-866-348-7884. And when we left our hero, Pastor Michael. Jeremiah, I mean, excuse me, Nehemiah 611, which that, you know, that. A little confusing when you just read that verse but and and it's and you know, if that's all you're taking out of context, you know. Right, it is a little confusing, and I was reading it in context at the time, but that verse stood out to me with.

With what I was going through during that sabbatical and where the Lord was focusing my attention, what's going on there for Nehemiah is he's facing distraction. He's facing the plot of the enemy to try to deter him from rebuilding the wall. And even with something that sounds good, going down to the temple, you know, meeting together, but Nehemiah saw the ploy for what it was, and he takes a stand and he says, Who am I sh that I should flee? And he doesn't go with them into the temple. He stays um at the wall, even in light of danger to himself.

God had called them to do. And so I think there's just a little lesson for us in our commitment to ministry there. And that's one of the things that a sabbatical can help a pastor do is take time to recommit and understand his calling amidst the many distractions of life and in ministry. and stand firm and not run and not flee from the work that God has called us to do. Oh, I love that.

I love that. And we got Mike. is in Dayton, Ohio.

So Mike, what what you got for us?

Well, um, you know, iron sharpens iron, and uh, you guys are rubbing on me pretty good about taking rest right here. Uh um Yeah. I have that's the way the devil comes after me the lot. Um I'm a I believe in habits. And the reason I believe in habits is because then that way It's a habit, and I'm going to do this no matter what's going on in my life.

I'm going to do it from this time to that time. And There's been many times my wife has said, Why are you calling? We need to get this done. Why are you doing this? Why are you listening to Truth Calk Live?

Well, I'm listening to Truth Calk Live because that's my habit. I want to listen to this and I want to get re-energize again about midday. And I want to learn something from God That needs to be in my heart and re-energize and then have a smile on my face again after 4:30, after 5 o'clock. You know what I mean? And uh It's not a lot of people in construction they go straight to the speedway and they buy a beer and try to be happy that way.

Well, I listen to Truth Talk Live and try to be happy. By letting God speak to my heart. And uh Um and I and I tell people that. It's not easy to control your habits because the devil wants to come along. Instill your joy and make somebody say, Hey, wait, I need you to do this, or I need you to do that.

Mike, can you show up to work early at uh five o'clock? We need to get started early. No, I'm I I I'm sorry, my habits I have habits in the morning.

Well, you know, Michael, I could put it another word. Habit has some interesting connotations to it. But how about the word discipline? Because which definitely fits into the idea of discipleship. The hat.

Yeah. You know, I know you well enough to know you have the discipline to get up and study the word. You have the discipline of prayer in certain circumstances I've seen time and time and time again. And a lot of what I've heard from Pastor Michael, which you guys kind of share the same name, just saying, it's fascinating that he has the habit or the discipline to take us about it. It's like, why is.

Obedience holy and and and obedience to God told you to rest.

Well, resting in his word, resting... Uh in ministry, like you go to church. Pastor Carson was saying a minute ago, this was profound. They said his dad used to tell him he worked in a stockyard every Monday, and if they were tired, they could cut them. You know, when you're doing that.

You know Slaughterhouse work, you you need to be sharp. Anyway, what his dad would tell him, look, you need to rest on Sunday so you can work on Monday, but part of that rest was going to church. And getting it and getting your heart right, you know, with God. And I, that's, that's really a profound thing. God's been teaching me through this show.

Yeah, the yeah, thank you for sharpening me. And, and my uh, hang on a minute. Dr. Carson was going to say something. Let's get a little bit of a message.

Well, you know, I'm sorry. No, it's okay. When we think about. What was taught in the Old Testament, we don't have the Sabbath in the New Testament, but the idea of a day to worship, there was an old saying African proverb that I need a day for my soul to catch up with my body.

So the body needs that time to slow down So the soul is caught up And we as Christians, We start the week. We say Sunday is the weekend. Sunday is not the weekend. Sunday is the first day of the week. How do you start your week?

You start your week with God. And you start your week with replenishing. Mm-hmm. putting back in That rest. I believe in a Sunday nap.

Sunday afternoon nap. Get refreshed, recreate. And then here we go, the second day of the week, Monday. And I show up with, as we heard earlier, the joy of the Lord. You bring that to your workplace.

Yeah, because again, in his presence as that works.

So Michael, as you're listening to Mike, what are your thoughts?

Well, I ag I agree. Mike, what is your occupation? I'm a cabinet maker, a construction worker, manager, yeah. Um so my phone rings all the time.

So I might as well feel like a pastor sometimes, you know what I mean? And. And I don't bother my pastor because I understand. You know what I mean? So, yeah.

Yes, your comment about the there's various ways that people go to supposedly rest. You mentioned the illustration of a construction worker grabbing a beer from the speedway and decompressing from the hard day at work. Whether it was on the road or the job site. And there's a difference between leisure and idle activity, those are not those can be fun, those can be enjoyable, but they're not solutions for rest. Even in Genesis, when God rested, he looked on his work, enjoyed, completed appearance and everything that had been created and reflected on it.

And God saw that it was good. Um God gave his own work meaning. Um and we we often forget You know, the meaning of our work. All of us are called to work in whatever field, capacity, occupation, gifts, and talents, skills that he has given to us, and there needs to be a rest from them. How profound is that?

Wait a minute. I just got to back up and say, Everybody, listen to what he just said. Like, leisure. And recreation or not rest. Like, how many times have you taken a vacation and it's the furthest thing from rest you ever had in your life?

I mean, you don't come back from that necessarily feeling rested. That is so profound, right? You said leisure and idleness. Is not the same because remember, John Allen, Michael? John Allen, a football player, working with my son on playing football.

At a game one time, Kirk had come off the field. And he was kind of goofing around. And he knew the coach, John knew the coach was going to put him back in. And he looked at Kirk and he said, Kirk, work at your rest. You're off the field right now to be getting ready to go back on the field.

So there's and I remember reading Chuck Swindah's strengthening your grip. He had a chapter strengthening your grip on leisure. How to work at that rest so that you now become at your best. And I've used that phrase a few times. Remember, Michael, to be at your best, you have to be at when to be your best, you have to be at your best, and you have to rest to be at your best.

I sorry you're getting this, Mike. The rest of the story is to be your best. Yes, and that's what it's all about. I just thought I'd throw that in there. Right?

I mean, discipline to rest. I love it. I love it. I love it. Mark, I'm just gonna.

Can I make one more comment? Please, please. My wife, we're going on vacation in a week, and my wife says, when are we going to leave? I said right after Sunday morning, that's when we're going to leave. And she goes, No, we we we could get started faster And I'm like, Tammy, we're going to the church and then we're going on vacation, okay?

So that's what we're doing, okay. Yeah. That is awesome. I hope a lot of the members of my church are listening to this right now. Yeah.

And then we're going to be back in time for church. And that's what I told her. And then, you know, that's what we're going to do. And it's called discipline. You know what I mean?

There you go. God bless you, Mike. Great call. We appreciate you very much, my friend. Keep the great work.

Oh, thank you, sir. Amen. Thank you for sharpening me. Michael Miller, as we get closer to the end here, do you find people do resist resting? Um I would say probably yes.

Again, they they resist. The idea because they don't fully understand it. They resist the idea of rest because. It can Theme. Like it's Wasting time.

They could be doing something. All right, and so what you're saying to us today. Resting is not a waste of time. Wonderful. Thank you all for listening.

Thank you, Michael.