I have been intrigued by the many well-known public figures who make their opinions known and expect people to embrace these ideas as the real truth – and sadly, it would appear that many people do trust their opinions. Actors from Hollywood weigh in on world issues believing they have the answers. Highly paid athletes send out tweets to try to sway us, believing that in a few characters they have grasped the many facets of an issue and give us deep insight. Business executives hold press conferences explaining why government needs to pass certain laws for the good of all – while in reality it is mostly for the benefit of the company that they run.

I will enjoy an actor for the talent they have on the screen, I will appreciate the talent of an athlete for what they do on the field or the arena, I will choose to purchase a product from a business based on its merits. What I will be very cautious of is assuming that simply because someone is well known or wealthy that they have insight to be brought to bear on every topic imaginable.

As someone who guides others on a journey of faith, it is so important to me to lead them to truth, to embrace the many facets of truth, to not try to simplify the beauty of God into one statement, to not only use a few verses or favourite books of the bible to define my faith because they say what I want to believe.

Personally, I continue to have a habit of reading through the bible on a regular basis (usually it takes me 16-18 months and then I start again). I am forever amazed at how new parts of it come alive each time I read it through. My journal is full of questions about why certain things were allowed to happened, why God responded in different ways that seem outright mean from my limited perspective. And then there are times when I am utterly amazed at the love and grace of God and the many ways that he demonstrates huge patience.

We are living in a time of convenience, of short answers, of fast food, of solving world problems by donating $10 through a text, of narrowly defining God only by my personal experiences and finding scriptures to validate what I want to believe and avoiding the rest.

We are disciples or Jesus, it is a relationship. This means an ongoing journey of learning. The entirety of the scriptures must be embraced for us to even begin to grasp the magnitude of God. Jesus himself pointed to the Old Testament as he taught. He demonstrated how the Old Testament revealed everything about him, that he can be found in all of the beauty and chaos of what took place over hundreds of years of history.

We are guiding others on this journey of discipleship. It will be imperative that we embrace the complexity of God through scripture and not allow those we lead to simplify it to a tweet. We must choose to have as our foundation the truth of scripture and to properly place the many opinions of others in their proper place – simply as opinions. This is hard work, this will take time. And yet, in the midst of this, we will discover the beauty of God, learn to fear him above all else, and lead others to do the same – all for the glory of God.

For the kingdom.

How do you respond when people ask how you are doing? When you talk about your life, how often do you answer with “busy” so that you don’t feel guilty about being perceive as not doing enough? Do you sometimes think you truly know what you need to do to get your life in a good state but you’re afraid of taking the steps necessary to get you there due to perceived pressure from those close to you or perhaps simply from your own imagined story that you are telling yourself about how your value would be diminished?

A number of years ago I decided that I would no longer use the word “busy” to describe my life. I realized that, for the most part, I have the flexibility to control what takes place in my life and that I can actually live in a way that was healthy. I would put things in place to ensure that I had rhythms that were good and that I would believe in the scriptural mandate of work and rest.

I’ve been pondering an intriguing verse. “So the message of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah was fulfilled. The land finally enjoyed its Sabbath rest, lying desolate until the seventy years were fulfilled, just as the prophet had said.” 2 Chronicles 36:21 NLT

This took place after Judah was sent into exile. God had ordained some life-giving rhythms for the Israelites – rest every 7 days, don’t farm every 7 years, Year of Jubilee after 49 years, various celebrations and festivals throughout the year. These were not random rules, these were set up because this is how God created us to be, to live. The Israelites didn’t live by them, and so not only were they suffering but the physical land, that they were to care for, was suffering. So God pushed them aside and gave the land its rest as it needed.

I wonder how many times God has stepped in and forced people to rest. It could have been through the loss of a job, through sickness, relational break up, etc. I’m not pretending to believe that these things are always ordained by God to force us to rest, and yet I wonder, for the person who is seeking God, that God chooses to interject into their lives some forced rest because they chose to avoid it.

I fully recognize that we all go through seasons of life. Often times these are out of our control and we need to step in to engage in a variety of areas that increase our time commitments. And yet, how often do these things completely overwhelm us because we have never built into our lives the God-designed margins that we were to be engaging in from the start.

Perhaps this is easier for me to write at this time as I am currently in what I am calling “a season of goodness.” It has been interesting to watch people’s reactions when I say this to them – it appears that they find it difficult to believe that anyone could have this season of life. And yet, in this “season of goodness”, I could choose to take on extra tasks, to fill my life with more people, attempt to move the ministry forward a faster clip – after all, I have the energy and mental capacity.

And yet, as I continually read scripture, I am reminded over and over of the beauty of rhythms. Engage in work, step back to rest. Take time to reflect, practice solitude. Stay focussed on what I am called to do and not get caught up in “the game of more” just because I could.

I am trusting that when I am faced with a significant bend in the road of life that I will have built into my life the necessary resilience and margin to be able to engage it as God calls me to. I will trust that God’s rhythms are the right ones and try to model this for others. How about you?

For the kingdom.