So, we try and build some margin into our “season” at Wild at Heart. We are very aware of the danger of burn-out in ministry. It seems like the number one occupational hazard for Christians. So common it seems inevitable. But no. We set a calendar that has some margin in it, and we do our best to stick to it.

But try as one may, you can never predict the inevitable crises that come our way. Or the intensity of warfare. Or the myriad of other draining things that show up unexpectedly. It has been a brutal year. I arrived at June spent beyond all reason. Running on fumes.

Thank God, we do build a sort of sabbath into June and July, where not all activity shuts down – still gotta pay the bills, answer email, finish edits, carry on – but we do get some breathing room to rest and recouperate before our season kicks in again mid-August.

What will I do with this time?

I feel like a man with three dollars in my pocket. Maybe a quart in my tank. And what astounds me is how quickly I think about spending what little I have. I get a little bit back in my soul and I start thinking about advancing the Kingdom. People that need my help. I get a little bit of God back in my tank and I start thinking about who I need to pray for.

Lord have mercy.

I made it to the station on fumes, but the process of re-fueling takes time and I’ve got less than a gallon in my tank now, and here I am thinking about hitting the road.

No wonder God commanded sabbath rest. He had to demand it, insist on it, make it an issue of moral consequence, otherwise we wouldn’t do it. It is so easy, dangerously easy to get caught up in the pace of this crazy world that rest feels uncomfortable; doing nothing feels awkward; as soon as we feel even a little bit refreshed, we’re back out on the highway, blasting ahead.

No.

I’m not going to do that.

I’m going to listen to God. Let him set the pace. Let him re-fill me.

There is a time for action, and a time for restoration.

God give us the mercy to accept the time he has us in. Especially when it is time for restoration.