By Joy Lear-Bernard
Ministry life will likely keep our minds and days forever busy.
Quite often what goes first from our list of things to do are those personal to our own well-being. It often seems our commitment to maintaining our own health is easily frayed and broken.
In the beginning, God created a balance of time, space, and rest. He gave food and water, He gave tasks and roles, and most importantly He gave us the cool-of-the-day experience where we meet with Him. These essentials are still the same. If we look closely these are the very things we’re conditioned to omit when we cave under the weight of ministry expectations.
Not enough sleep, missing a meal, too tired to pray, not a moment to exhale and be ministered to.
Let me gently remind us that these aspects are as essential to us in God’s design as they were to the first humans God formed.
Consider this. There will never be a season of our walk when we do not need to pray, to rest, to be still. Even for a moment.
Even when it seems we cannot pray it does not mean we don’t need it. That’s why Jesus prayed for Peter when he could not; intercession is made for us as advocacy towards God through prayer because it is always essential to our survival. Thank God when we cannot pray Jesus has prayed for us!
We must also consider that life has busy seasons. It extracts from us more than we have to offer at times. Becoming caregivers of parents or children, health issues, trauma, or crisis amongst those we serve happens! These things are inevitable. How we survive this is supported by tiny ‘essential’ moments before, during, and after the hard times.
Jesus responded to crisis often. No doubt he was busy at times, yet he seemed also to have a handle on rooting back to the essentials by making time for rest and meditation and holding on to the idea of doing what the Father required.
A lifestyle of unmet needs causes chaos, calamity, and emotional cancers.
Let’s prayerfully explore our time. Let’s expect busy seasons but deflect from a merely ‘overly’ busy life. Time used to explore our intentions, thoughts, and actions is time well spent.
Let’s allocate time wisely to the ‘essentials of Eden’ because they are the things during crises that help to anchor us through those difficult times.
