As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
The weekend had been circled for over a month, and it couldn’t have arrived at a better time. I was just coming off a brutal stretch of traveling and working mixed with holiday busyness, where I just knew I needed this. One of the rhythms I wanted to set in my life was to regularly go away on personal retreats, but it had already been a year since my last one. The past year had been marked with tremendous growth and fruit, but also difficult tests and trials. A change of pace and scenery to slow down and rest was imperative. But honestly once I got to the retreat center, I found it extremely difficult.
My greatest temptation was to capitalize on the momentum of the previous year and get work done. It was to plan and strategize for the sake of ministry. Yet the whole goal of the retreat wasn’t to be productive, but to unplug and rest. Even though it was only for the weekend, it’s sad to admit, but not looking at my phone was hard! Resting and not thinking about all the things I needed to get done was hard. It was so counter-cultural to not hustle, to not be “on my grind” or “go, go, go”. Hebrews 4:11 talks about making every effort to enter the rest of God. In other words, doing the hard work of rest. It’s a total oxymoron, yet so profound and true. It takes hard work to be that intentionally still, silent, and restful.
So once I made the effort to unplug and rest, I was hit with another temptation, which was to make this weekend epic. My greatest fear wasn’t in not getting things done, but in walking away from this personal retreat with nothing to show for it. I was going to pray and seek God, to wait and receive, but what if I received nothing? I want fresh revelations and downloads from heaven! What if I get none? I mean I did come all this way and sacrificed time and money, and something special should happen, right? That’s when I had to come back to the goal of my faith, which isn’t to do much for God, but to be known by Him (See Matthew 7). If I’m honest, a lot of my drive to want to know God more comes from my desire to share what I learned and preach and do mighty exploits. But when God knows me more? I’m just known, which is intimacy. And in intimacy, I’m transformed. In that moment I had to declare to myself that even if I get nothing out of this, all that matters is that I spent time with God.
And oftentimes that is all that God wants with us — time spent together. Time spent together for no other reason than to pass the time. I know I come to God so often with an agenda rather than relationship. Yet when it’s about being together, it’s not about activity. It’s actually embracing holy inactivity, which is so different than religious fervor that demands us to do something rather than be. It’s learning the sacred art of doing nothing unto the glory of God. It’s saying our devotion to God doesn’t have to be grand and dramatic in order to be intimate. It’s sonship. It’s friendship. It’s trading hurry for the sacred pace of slow and still. It’s not about accomplishing anything or even receiving anything, but just being together.
In the coming days and weeks, I bless you to take time, even if it’s just a morning or an afternoon, to consecrate and dedicate it to the Lord to just be together and rest. Would you give up feeling productive to be close? Hear His invitation. “Come away with me by yourself to a quiet place, and rest” (Mark 6:31b). Amen.