Ceiling Fans and Rest
- Beth Mims
- May 15
- 4 min read
I stopped the ceiling fans today.
That usually only happens when I am ready to clean them. We run them constantly in our home. Day and night, they do their job to keep the air circulating.
When I stopped them, you can guess what I found. Dust. All over the blades. I was prepared with my dust cloths, and I took the time to clean them thoroughly, and then I put them back to work. Refreshed.
As I cleaned those fans, I thought about the importance of stopping our lives for rest. That is somewhat of a foreign concept in our society. We are all about busyness and productivity. When we are not busy working, we are busy at leisure, but we don’t stop. We keep going. Sort of like the Energizer Bunny[1] that used to be on the commercial. He went and went and went, never stopping to rest. That was advertised as a good thing.
We still seem to think it is a good thing. We put rocking chairs on our front porches if we have them, but we don’t use them much. They are just for decoration. We believe in keeping our minds occupied, never stopping, never resting. We think that is admirable.
God doesn’t.
In fact, God gave us an example, a commandment, and a principle of rest in scripture. He rested after six days of creation (Genesis 2:2 – 3, KJV). Remembering the Sabbath is the fourth commandment, and while that can be interpreted many ways, it has its roots in God’s rest at the end of creation. Throughout scripture, God calls us to “be still” (Psalm 46:10, KJV), and to “come to Him for rest” (Matthew 11:28 – 29, KJV).
God did not call us to be Energizer Bunnies or energizer people. He called us to be people with balanced lives. People who work hard, enjoy some leisure, and enjoy rest.
What does rest do for us? One thing it does is just what it did for my fans.
Rest allows us to see the dust that has accumulated in our lives. The stuff that has taken up residence while we have been too busy to address it. When we slow down, God can speak to our hearts. He can speak to our souls, and without the distractions of busyness, we can hear Him. When we rest, He can begin to clear away the dirt that is clogging up our minds and spirits. Little sins (is there such a thing as a little sin?), hurts, grudges, that we are carrying that impede our fellowship with Him. We can talk with Him, confess and be forgiven.
When we are still, quiet, we remember that He IS God, and we are not. That seems like a simple concept, but in reality, in everyday practice, we forget. We worry like we are in charge. We act like we are in charge. We talk like we are in control. But we aren’t.
Only God is sovereign.
Being still, resting, reminds us.
Today, I will breathe. I will take moments where I am still and commit my life to the power of my almighty Father. I will stop and let Him sweep the dust off my soul, so that I can serve Him refreshed.
Today, I will rest in Him, unhurried, because rest is His gift to me.
Today, I will open it with joy.
Father, I have arrogantly refused Your gift of rest so many times in my life, thinking that everything depended on me. How foolish I have been. Forgive me. I have walked hurried and burdened when You were calling me to Yourself. I don’t want to do that anymore. I want to rest in You each day. I want to live the abundant life that You offer. I want to take advantage of the rocking chairs and the quiet moments to commune with You. You are so good. There is much work to do, and there are people to serve, but I can only do it in Your strength. Wipe the dust off, and send me out refreshed, Lord. I’ll go with You, not ahead of You. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Think About It:
· Do you rest in God?
· Do you have a time that you find stillness before God?
· How can you rest in Him today?
Scriptures:
“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made” (Genesis 2:2, KJV).
“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28 – 29, KJV).
“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10, KJV).
“For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not” (Isaiah 30:15, KJV).
[1] The Energizer Bunny is the mascot of the Energizer Batteries in Canada, the United States, and Turkey.
Comments