The speaker at one of our Women’s conferences told the story about an
American on safari. He had the natives marching almost day and night to reach
his hunting destination in the African bush. On the fourth morning, the Bushmen
refused to move. Instead, they relaxed in the shade of a tree and stayed there
long into the morning. The American hunter was incredulous and exasperated. He
grew angrier as the minutes ticked by on his watch, and he finally exploded.
"This is an absolute waste of my valuable time. Can someone tell me what's
going on here?" The translator looked at him with surprise and replied,
"Well, they are just waiting for their soul to catch up with their
body."
Can you relate to that? Are you so busy with a hectic schedule that it
feels like you leave part of yourself behind? The thought of taking time to sit
still, to enjoy a hobby, have a cup of tea, call your mom, take a college
class, play with your children, read a book, visit with a friend, stroll in the
park or on the beach seems like a distant dream. We feel guilty if we dare to
take a moment to breathe, relax or take time to feed our soul.
What is our soul? It is our mind, will and emotions. Psychiatrists tell
us that psychosomatic illnesses, a sickness with no known physical source, are
very common in people with stress-filled lives. If we do not rest, our soul
will actually invent physical symptoms to force us to shut down, so it can heal
and regain its strength. We care for our body with regular meals. We care for
our spirit with Bible study, prayer and corporate worship. Our soul needs care
too.
If you place a rubber band in the sun, it will get hard and brittle, the
elasticity gets rigid and inflexible. This same thing happens to our soul. With
prolonged exposure to stress and abuse, we get hard, taut and easily upset or
angered. We can no longer bend or compromise to accommodate another person. We
are about to snap. We feel abused, taken for granted, overworked and
overwhelmed. We act angry, resentful, bitter and unforgiving toward others.
Eventually, we end up in a ball of nerves ready to bounce over the edge of
sanity!
It is important to take time
throughout the day to quiet our mind and to dedicate several hours every week for solitude, even
if you cannot take them all at one time. You have heard the
expression: “blowing off steam”. This helps us to get rid of strong feelings
or energy, which are bottled up inside of us. This is basically what our
soul needs to do several times during the day. Take a short break to unwind, to
regain perspective and to breathe in oxygen to give your cells energy. Then go
back to work.
Jesus gave us an example of how to allow our soul to catch up. He
ministered to people for three years on a constant basis. Everyone who heard of
Jesus came to Him to heal their sick and demon possessed friends and relatives.
He spent hours on hillsides preaching to the crowds and providing them with
food to eat (Mark 8:19). Yet, Jesus took
time to withdraw by a private boat to a solitary place (Matthew 14:13; Mark 6:45-46). He went up on a mountainside by himself (Matthew 14:23). He slipped away to the
wilderness (Luke 5:16). He even got up at
daybreak and went to a quiet place (Luke
4:42; Mark 1:35).
He used this time to commune with our Father and to allow His soul to
catch up. He also taught his disciples to do this same thing (Mark 6:31). If
Jesus thought times of rest were important, shouldn’t we? It is not necessary
to feel guilty when you sit still, take a nap, do deep breathing and stretching
exercises, read a Christian novel, watch a Christian movie or sit with a friend
to chat. It is
also important to spend the Lord’s Day with fellow Believers in mental and
spiritual renewal.
Our soul needs time to refocus, to unwind, to find its
balance and to center its focus on Jesus (Isaiah 26:3).
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, remind us to take a clue from Mary when Martha worked
herself into a tizzy because she did all the chores by herself, while Mary sat
at Your feet. You told Martha that only one thing is worthy of our focus and
that Mary discovered it; so You would not take that time with You away from her
(Luke 10:43). Help us to sit at
Your feet, to learn to live in the moment and to follow Your Spirit’s leading
for each one of them.
Thought for the Day:
There is a time to “do”, but there is also a time to
“be”. After all, that is why we are called human BE-ings.
