Operating from the place of Rest

The opposite of striving or performance orientated lifestyle is to act from the place of rest. Whereas striving aims to reach a certain standard before one can be happy, acting from a place of rest is the belief that one has internally already achieved that expected standard. Now one's own actions just brings it out.

Striving revolves around the idea of "how much do I do", while acting from a place of rest looks at things through the lenses of "do or do not".

For us believers, this acting from a place of rest means to operate in the grace of God.

Somewhat common phenomenon I have encountered in the Body of Christ has been this notion of “do for God”. Whole idea sounds noble: “Let's do a lot for God! Let's win the whole world for Jesus! Let's serve God a lot in several church services by feeding the poor and evangelizing the whole world!”

I have nothing against anything mentioned above. I just find it important to do them according to the example set by Jesus.

When I was younger, the notion of "do for God" drove at least me - and several other people I have met - to burnout. I admit I accomplished more than I ever thought I could, but at the same time it led me to my burnout:

"What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"
Matt. 16:26 (NIV)

It wasn't until I burned out when I began to listen to God as He began to teach me about His way of "doing with Him".

Today I don't approach any situation with the idea of what or how much I could do for God, but rather whatever I do, I do it as a quality time with me and my Father.

If it’s me hitting streets with the Gospel, I'm not focusing on trying to evangelize people, but rather it's my quality time with my Heavenly Father. At that moment my quality time with Him just happens to look like me sharing the gospel and my testimony with others. I do my part while Father does whatever He does in that moment. And I can say I’ve seen some interesting stuff. We work together as partners, yet He still remains God and I as His servant.

Likewise, when I pray for someone by sharing words of knowledge or prophecy. It's my quality time with my Father, which at that moment looks like prophesying. To me it’s a relational moment where we - Dad and I - discuss the situation of that person where I just share what Dad wants me to say at the same time as guiding me how to deliver that message in right way.

The same principle applies when I go to gym, have coffee, watch movies, make dinner, meet people, or do basically anything in my life. I don't see times when I'm not with Him, or times when I'm more or less with Dad. Sometimes my awareness of Him may vary, but that's completely a different matter.

This act from a place of rest means acting from a place of a relationship. God has chosen to act in all things according to the principle of relationships. When creating man, God wanted Him and man to have a relationship and companionship. When that relationship broke in the Fall, God came into the world in Jesus Christ to repair that relationship. During Jesus' earthly ministry, He always formed a relationship with disciples first and only then He began to teach, authorize, and raise them.

Even becoming a believer of Christ means that person ends their relationship with sin in order to start a relationship with Jesus. Even today Jesus disciples us in this same way as He did when He was on earth: first He forms a relationship with us and everything else comes after that.

I have received much more prayer answers and seen even greater miracles of God since I switched to the way of "I do with God".

The fact that God works and does wonderful things among us even if we follow striving centered "Do to God" principle, it’s not an evidence of how good job we do, but rather tells about God's own character how He remains faithful even if we wouldn’t be:

"…if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself."
2. Tim. 2:13 (NIV)

For a mind trained to perform finds it difficult to understand these thoughts because it associates rest with laziness or passivity: to not having any works or actions. This might be the most common thing Christians get confused by trying to balance ideas such as “saved by faith alone and not from works” and “faith without works is dead”.

It seems contradictory, however in reality striving and works doesn’t mean one and the same thing.

What has helped me in this process is the metaphor of a bowl called "Works". I am that bowl and now it’s up to me to choose whether I fill that bowl with "Rest" or "Striving".

Is that what I’m doing coming from a place of rest or from a place of striving and performance?

Stay free!