A Time to Let the Land Rest

Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.     ~Leviticus 25: 3-4

In the book of Leviticus we learn that God told Moses what he needed to say to the people of Israel when they would go into the land He would give them. They were to keep a Sabbath to the Lord. This meant that for 6 years they could sow the land, prune it and gather its fruits. However, in the seventh year they were to let the land rest. That meant no planting and pruning.  Sometimes our lives need a season of  "letting the land rest".

It has been a year since my last blog post and I know that the Lord was telling me I needed a rest from it. Many times over the year I would have something on my heart that I wanted to share and I would consider hopping on and writing but the prodding from the Lord was, "No. Wait." I have loved this platform to be able to share my heart and what the Lord is doing with me and my family and how it has allowed me to connect with people I otherwise wouldn't know today. It's been a wonderful outlet, therapeutic even. But even good things need a time to lay dormant. 

Now that I am ready to come back and be active here again I have been reflecting on what God has shown me over the last year, how He has spoken to my heart and to Ben's heart and how He is directing our family. It's been so interesting to see all the pieces come together and finally have that "I get it!" moment with God. And I want to share a little with you about where God has planted us and how we learned to bloom there. 

There is a very popular saying today that tells us to "Bloom Where You are Planted". This is not a saying you will find anywhere in the Bible but the principle of the saying can be. I Corinthians 7:17 says, "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches." Basically Paul is telling the people here to "bloom where you are planted". It is so easy to get caught up in what everyone around us is doing isn't it.? I know when I hear someone speak passionately about a cause that is important to them it is hard for me to not get caught up in that. I start questioning whether or not I should feel as passionately about that too. My nature is to want to help and to solve problems. If you have a problem and I can offer a solution I'm all over that. This is a good quality to have...until it's not. It's important for me to recognize that God is not asking me to do it all. He has a specific plan and purpose for me and I need to stop and rest long enough to hear what it is. Once I hear what it is I have to be willing to run with that and honestly....that can be hard sometimes.

In every corner of  my world whether it is society, the church, the school there are areas that people place on the pedestal of importance. Sometimes when what God has called you to does not meet the perceived expectation of "that's so amazing" it can be tempting to ignore it and wait for Him to give you something more exciting; or even more dangerously, create something more exciting to do that He isn't asking you to do. We can convince ourselves of anything if we are desperate enough to have something big and important going on in our lives. My experience (limited as it may be) has taught me that I am likely not alone in this temptation: to look at where God has put me as just a stepping stone to something greater. The principal in the verse above to "live the life that the LORD has assigned YOU" can be life changing if you let it be. And that is something that I learned in my season of rest. 

God has our family here in our small, humble community , in our small, humble home, in our small, humble church with kids who attend a small, humble school to do small, humble things. He is asking us to minister His love to the people around us in our neighborhood, our church, our community and our school in small, humble ways and it has been so freeing to recognize and accept this. Ben and I see clearly what God has called us to and what He is asking of us and we are humbly obeying his direction and reaping multiplied blessings in return. 

I plan to share more about the humble ministry God has given us and how He is asking us to live the life he's assigned us but for now I just wanted to encourage you, if you're reading and feeling similar to how I've felt to allow yourself a time of rest to just hear God. Too often in ministry, in churches, in society we are given unwise advice that is contrary to God's Word and what he says about rest and it is leading people to be unhappy where God has planted them. Instead of blooming they are like a parched plant in the heat of summer, begging for water that can't be found. There is no weakness in rest. In Matthew 11 Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" Sometimes rest is just stopping long enough to soak in His Word and allow it to refresh your soul. But sometimes rest comes in longer periods of time. Sometimes the thing God is calling you to is so humble it is often overlooked and if we aren't careful we will miss a tremendous opportunity to do God's humble work, being too busy striving to do the flashy stuff. Don't miss out on what God has for you. Stop. Rest. Listen. Obey.