Day 3

"One More Project, Boys"

Hebrews 4:10- “for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God rested from his.”

Thirteen acres of land surrounded by fence placed by digging holes by hand in the heat of Summer. It was a time I will never forget with my dad. We used posthole diggers and dug one hole after another around the entire 13 acres. It was an exhausting job that seemed to never end. Sweat poured into my eyes every hour we worked. My hands became numb from the pain and grind of hitting hardened ground with every hole. It was a job of utter exhaustion with very little reward, other than the irreplaceable time sharing this experience with my dad.

Our spirits can become as exhausted as our bodies sometimes. Maybe you can relate to this. Prayers that are prayed over and over for change with no change. Hope we hold onto until we’re not sure we can hold on any longer. A habit that we just keep doing when we don’t want to; but here we go again. Keep trying, keep praying, keep doing the right things, keep going to church, keep confessing, keep repenting, keep reading scripture, keep witnessing. This is the message we hear to the point of exhaustion.

Though we take this message to heart because our heart is to please God, this is not a message that comes from the heart of God. Exhaustion is a product of performance, not rest. Self-effort always leads to a desire to quit more than the passion to keep going. 

Rest reflects the heart of God because while there is always something else to do, another hole to be dug, another prayer to be prayed, another scripture to be read, He knows we don’t have it in us. Diligence and effort are always overshadowed by God giving us what we need so we can rest in His provision rather than the effort we expend (Ephesians 4:3, 7; Hebrews 12:14-15; 2 Peter 1:3-5).

Those backbreaking weeks of digging holes reflected the work ethic my brother and I learned from our father. When we thought the last job was complete, we would hear these words, “One more project, boys!” That is the experience many of us have had in our Christian journey. Performance reigns, and rest alludes us.

A “one more project” mindset robs us of the rest God offers us today. The time we spend with God, the scriptures we read, the choices we make, represent our response to a holy God who has already declared us holy (Colossians 3:12). No longer does our lack of performance indict us, nor does our tenacious performance make us more loved. By grace, His performance defines our own, liberating us to enjoy the life we live today. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me today that I am deeply loved not because of what I’ve done or not done, but because of your gracious choice to love me. I will rest today in what you say about me. I do my work today in the name of Christ as a grateful response to your choice to love me. May I rejoice in what you have done through me today more than what I have done for you. Amen.

 Click this link to find out more about the influence of grace from my new book "Living Under the Influence: How Grace Sets Us Free from the Performance Mindset." Click this link to visit my author's website.