“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” Genesis 2:1-2
In ministry, there always seems to be work to do. In my case, it is planning worship sets, executing worship sets, running rehearsals, discipling other leaders, counseling and shepherding team members, meeting with new team members, equipping and encouraging existing team members, attending staff meetings, attending community outreach events, and so much more. These are just the tip of the iceberg and my point here is this: If we are not careful, we will continue to be busy and stay busy because we can never seem to get ahead. We will begin to operate in a reactive way instead of a proactive way. Our calendars will begin to control us instead of us controlling our calendars. The eager expectation of ministry will begin to be a burden of stress and anxiety. The standard of excellence that we began with in ministry will slowly be reduced to mediocrity at best. When we lose the ability to finish our tasks, we lose the ability to step back and appreciate our work and the beauty of the Gospel in it. It is in our rest that we can truly appreciate how God is moving. It is in our rest that we can truly be thankful to God. It is in our rest that we can gaze upon the beauty of the Gospel and remember how much we need it. It is in our rest that we are strengthened and stirred up for the next task that God has for us. If we are never resting, chances are, we are never finishing.
Praise God that He always finishes what He starts! Our confidence and assurance in our faith is based on this truth that we find in Philippians 1:6. It says, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God is competent. He is trustworthy and dependable. He does not procrastinate. Everything He does has weight and meaning.We see this in the story of creation. God, very systematically and orderly, created the heavens and the earth. He had vision and a purpose. He knew what He was doing and why He was doing it. This is something we need to hear as worship leaders! Do we have a purpose and a vision for each song that we sing? Do we have vision and goals for our ministry, or are we just constantly moving things around while never accomplishing anything? Do we have a targeted objective, or are we just aimlessly meandering?
I have read the creation account many times and never seen this until now. Here goes. We see at the end of chapter one in Genesis that God was done creating on the sixth day, BUT He was not finished! In verse 2 we see that God wasn’t finished until He rested! This blew my mind. I have always read this passage as more of a suggestion to rest and an endorsement to take a Sabbath, only if you have time of course. It wasn’t until the other day that I noticed that God wasn’t finished with His work of creating the heavens and the earth until He rested. Resting, appreciating, and evaluating His work was the last thing to do. It is almost as if His resting was the “approved” stamp that was written across His work. God didn’t rest on the seventh day because there was nothing left to do, He rested because it was the last thing to do.
I think I have severely underestimated the importance of rest for the majority of my ministry and that has led to an imbalance in my personal life and my ministry. For example, I have gone through times where I lost my joy to serve. I seemed to always feel busy. I was slowly becoming more and more anxious and stressed. My ministry felt more like a burden than a gift. I was becoming frustrated at tiny things at work that bled over into not wanting to be bothered when I got home. My family life began to suffer. I lacked goals and vision and became nervous about the future of my ministry instead of being confident and excited. All because I was never finishing, and I know now, that I was never finishing because I was never resting.
Here are a couple of tips to remember to help us rest more.
1) You aren’t the main character in this story, God is! The Gospel is about Him. Creation is about Him. The church is about Him. Your ministry is about Him. Your life is about Him. He is the only one strong enough to carry the weight of it all. He is the only one wise enough not to make a mess of it all. He is the only one big enough to see it all. So, be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). Trust in Him and not in you… I promise you, He is able! (Eph. 3:20)
2) Don’t overload your plate! In other words, learn to say no. When we think we are the main character, then we feel like we have to do everything. This is not the case. God was doing pretty well with redeeming His creation back to Himself before you and I showed up and He will continue to. We need to prioritize our schedules and understand that we aren’t being good stewards of our gifts or the Gospel if we are only giving 75% to everything because we are spread too thin. Make a conscious effort to simplify in order to get more done.
3) Have vision and purpose! Make sure to have a target before you set off in pursuit. This will help you gauge your progress along the way. It will help you see where you are strong and where you are weak. It will let you know how far you have come and how far you have to go and it will let you know when you are done. This is so important for us as we evaluate ourselves and our ministries. When there is no vision or purpose, there is no way to evaluate. Where there is no evaluation, there is no progress. Where there is no progress, there is no completion. Where there is no completion, there is no rest.
4) Plan! This is one of the hardest things to do especially for musicians. We are naturally more free spirited and we like to take things as they come. However, this is not the way to pursue rest. Resting comes when we complete a task. Completing a task only happens when a purpose has been met, a vision realized, and a plan has been executed. The most important way to stop being reactive is to start being proactive.
Hopefully these reminders will help us see the purpose, the joy, the beauty, the wonder, and the delight that we have in being worship leaders and ministers of the Gospel. Hopefully they will encourage us and inspire us. Hopefully they will help us thrive and grow. Hopefully they will help us set a pace that we can sustain and not one that will burn us out. Hopefully these reminders will allow us to begin finishing tasks (great or small), accomplishing goals (great or small), and resting in the glory of a great God who will one day finish the work that He has started in us. Hopefully these reminders will lead us to discovering the fulfillment, the satisfaction, and the freedom that is found in our rest.