It’s All In Your Head

I am wrapping up a 4 week hiatus from some of my ministry committments. For the last few weeks, I haven’t been singing with the worship team or leading or singing on any sets at IHOP. I felt like I was running myself ragged trying to do too much and never quite succeeding. In the back of my mind, I was wondering how I was going to be able going back to active duty after my hiatus with the same schedule I had before. If it was too much to handle before, wouldn’t it still be too much to handle four weeks later?

The only logical answer seemed to be that I needed to trim some things from my schedule. The problem with that was that everything I’m committed to is something I feel God has called me to do in this season. So where does that leave me?

My working theory is this: Busy is a state of mind. It’s all in your head.

My problem was never really about the activities I was doing. It was about the frantic, stressed out attitude with which I approached said activities.

Psalm 62:1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
Psalm 62:5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
Psalm 116:7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

These are a few of my favorite verses on rest. Here’s what I noticed about them: none of them are really about activities or schedules or time management. Now, I am a HUGE fan of schedules and time management, and I’d probably be the least productive person on the planet without them. They are a great tool, but they are not the solution.

These verses are about a way of life where your soul rests in God. I know from experience that it’s possible to have a pretty relaxed schedule and still not be at rest. I think the reverse is true as well. If my soul is resting in God, a busy schedule does not negate that rest.

I’m taking a new approach to life. I’m not sure exactly how to explain it except to say that it’s a quieter, less frantic approach. In doing this, every day I have to ask God to renew my mind. I have to break mindsets and thought patterns that I’ve had my whole life. It’s no easy process, and I cannot do it without God’s help.

Even though I will continue all the same activities I was doing before, I will do them with a soul that is resting in God. Granted, I’m only a week or so into this new theory of mine, but so far the results have been more than I anticipated!