[20:20 Vision] TriangleSample

  

Evaluate Your Pace 

One side of this triangle is our PACE. We need to evaluate our pace. What is our pace? At what speed are we moving? Are we going too fast, or too slowly? Are we lazy? Are we always busy?

The Bible talks a lot about rest. Rest is good for us, yet too much rest is not. There needs to be a balance between work and rest. Too much work all the time, constant worry, always trying to do more, never delegating, and always saying yes to everything can drain the joy out of our lives. That is why God urges us to rest. God wants to do something in us with rest.

The Bible says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.” (Exodus 20:8–11 HSBC)

We need to learn to be strategically un-strategic. The right pace should be a once-a-week vacation, not a once-a-year vacation. If we can develop a Sabbath schedule, then we can develop a Sabbath heart. A Sabbath heart rests in knowing God throughout the week. It rests in knowing God, resting in His Word, and letting Him fight our battles. 

You may ask yourself, how do you keep the right pace as a parent, when you constantly have to keep moving forward? We might not always be able to pause everything and rest, but Sabbath is about doing something that refreshes you. For some people it is being outside, going out for a walk, or gardening; for others, reading or listening to music is refreshing. Find something that refreshes your soul.

Our Sunday should be a Sabbath. We should be doing things that give us rest in preparation for Monday. If you are married with kids, you may find that a two–hour date night with your wife can refresh your week and your marriage. A quiet time with the Lord is refreshing as well. Separate one hour to be alone with the Lord, to read and pray. Do you know what an hour with the Lord can do in your life?

Thought of the day: Find a day of the week that refreshes you. What can refresh you? Who can you spend time with on your Sabbath? Will you evaluate your pace this 2020?