A Very Subtle Enemy‏

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.” – Hebrews 4:9

If you’re serious about pursuing a deeper relationship with God,
you’ll constantly do battle with a very subtle enemy called hurry.
The great danger is not that we’ll renounce our faith, but that
we’ll become so distracted by lesser things that we’ll settle for
a mediocre version of it.

Nobody was more in demand than Jesus, yet He regularly withdrew from
activity for the sake of solitude and prayer.  He was busy, but never
stressed out.  And He taught His disciples that too.  “Then the
apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had
done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, ‘Come aside by
yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.’ For there were many
coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” (Mark
6:30-31 NKJV).  Sound familiar?  It is because hurry kills love that
it is the great enemy of your soul.  Hurry lies behind much of our
anger.  It prevents us from receiving love from the Father and giving
it to those who need it.  That’s why Jesus never hurried.

The truth is, as much as we complain about it, we are drawn to hurry.
It makes us feel important.  It keeps the adrenaline pumping.  It
means we don’t have to look too closely at our hearts.  It keeps us
from feeling our loneliness.  So what’s the cure?  Solitude!  The word
“rest” in this particular passage of scripture is the only time in the
New Testament in which the original Greek wording means “Sabbath rest”.

After spending 40 days alone on a mountain with God, Moses returned to
the people with (a) clear direction; (b) new strength; (c) the
assurance that God was with him.  Are you feeling drained?  If so,
there remains therefore a rest for the people of God.