Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm, all is bright… Sleep in heavenly peace, SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE?!
There is a lot to love about the Christmas Season: the music, the lights, the treats! I love the joy my wife takes in decorating our home. I love the reconnection with people at church that we may not have seen for too long. If I were honest though, what I love most are the moments that feel like resting “in heavenly peace.”
Unfortunately for many pastors, the season increases busyness, frustration and stress. We work to help those in darkness find the joy of Christmas peace for the first time. We work to help believers fully experience Christmas joy through deepening, obedient faith. Too often though we do this without finding time for our own souls and families to enjoy that same rest. Jesus’ Christmas rest is something we must choose to receive.
My simple aim in this post is to encourage you to choose Jesus’ peace this season no matter what responsibilities you have left before Christmas day.
Mark 6:31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” …33 The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd…
I wonder if our families feel a bit like the disciples in Mark 6:331-34.. After a busy season, Jesus calls them to come away with him alone to rest. BUT then it notes that the people saw them and ran ahead to get where they were going before they got there. So many came that Jesus ended up teaching all day and asking the disciples to serve a giant meal with almost no physical resources! Doesn’t sound like rest to me. In the same way I fear our family’s hope to rest with us gets hijacked during the Christmas season!
Going to more services, parties and ministry events may not sound like rest to your family or you! Now you know your situation better than me, so I can’t tell you exactly what to do, but I want to give you some encouragement to seek rest for yourself and your family in the next couple of weeks.
Whatever you do consider the following:
FIRST, Stake out unhurried, protected space to do things that refresh & restore your soul. You need this! That protected space might be a week off or an evening home. Take it without feeling guilty. Take enough time to move through any lingering exhaustion and leave room for refilling.
Stake out unhurried, protected space to be alone with Jesus. You need this to refresh and restore your spiritual strength and focus.
Stake out some unhurried, protected space to just be with your family. This can refresh and restore your relationships and your loved one’s hearts.
Those moments might include unhurried time in prayer with an open Bible. Unhurried meals with each other or friends. Laughter filled moments with stories, puzzles, music and/ or games. Moments of genuine worship where our hearts truly rest through singular focus on the Savior who was born out of God’s love for us!
THEN, Find joy and peace AS You serve. During the feeding of the 5000, the disciples learned that Jesus was giving through them even when they had nothing to give. Trust that. Rest IN Jesus while you serve.
Accept the reality of ministry pressures. Pushing against what you can’t control only increases your angst and blocks His peace. Instead, lean in to Him to sort and carry the ministry load.
As you do, enjoy the company of those you are with. Embrace genuine care for those you are connecting with. Jesus taught and fed the crowd who messed up their planned rest because He had cared about them. He wanted his disciples to care as well.
There is something beautiful about taking a deep breath, relaxing in the moment with focus on Jesus and simply receiving His peace.
When we went to multiple Christmas Eve services we created a specially blessed “Green Room” where families of those serving shared a simple meal and relaxed time in each other’s company between the services. All of our children grew to look forward to that moment. It was a way to find rest during what could have been a frustrating moment. That may not work for you, but I am confident the Spirit can lead you to something that will.
It had become a tradition to close our Christmas eve services with some version of lighting candles that represent our Light of the world Savior while singing Silent Night. There is something beautiful about taking a deep breath, relaxing in the moment with focus on Jesus and simply receiving His peace.
My prayer is that you have several of those moments before the year is over. May your Christmas be blessed with rest and refreshment through our Prince of Peace.
The Pastor's Life 