Are you Sleeping or Resting?

I saw wall art in one of my favorite stores recently that said “Give it to God and Go to Sleep”. While I appreciate the sentiment behind the sign, it struck me that sometimes the church (meaning us, the body of Christ) have taken that sign literally. We have laid everything at God’s feet and have gone to sleep to what is happening around us. And we haven’t really wanted to be reawakened. While God wants us to have rest, He wants us to find rest in Him. We have wanted to live our lives the way we best see fit and then run to Him when things get difficult. Is that really Biblical though? Is that really why we were put on this earth?

Have you ever wondered what your purpose on this earth might be? I know when I was in college and a little beyond there were people so preoccupied with making sure they were in God’s will that it paralyzed them. They were so afraid to move outside of God’s will that they spent more time agonizing over what they were called to do than truly pursuing God’s heart for them. I personally believe everyone is born with giftings and talents and passions that God placed inside of us. I believe that even though God knows the beginning and the end, He watches us with absolute joy to see what we will do with the gifts and talents He has given us. We were put on this earth to change the world around us. I do not believe we are supposed to hide out until the rapture comes. We are to use our gifts and talents to make a difference in people while we are here. 

You may be familiar with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 beginning in verse 14. Jesus tells a story of a man who distributed talents to his servants. Two of them used their talents to trade for more talents. But one of them buried his talents out of fear. When the man returned, he was very pleased with two of his servants but angry with the third one that fearfully hid his talent. I think this is a lesson for us. If we take what God has given us and go out into the world and use those gifts to make a difference in the world, we are doing God’s will no matter what our day to day schedule looks like or career we choose. However, if we in fear hide what God has given us, we are not allowing God or the Holy Spirit to move and operate within us. We are missing our purpose for being on the earth. We have essentially gone to sleep.

Matthew 11:28 – 30 in the Passion Translation says, “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.” Notice here Jesus does not say come to me and I will take over and do everything for you. Where would the fun be in that? God did not want robots. He wanted partners. That is why there was free choice even in the Garden of Eden. He says in Matthew 11, He will refresh you as you join your life with His and partner with Him. What He requires of you is pleasant. Imagine that! The God of the universe, creator of all things, wants to partner with us! He wants us to use the gifts and talents He created us with to partner with Him in this life on earth. 

So if we know God wants to partner with us, what is the partnership about? I think the answer can be found in what is commonly referred to as The Lord’s Prayer. In Matthew 6:10, in the midst of the prayer, Jesus says “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Passion translation says “Manifest your kingdom realm and cause your every purpose to be fulfilled on earth, just as it is in heaven.” So when Jesus prayed this prayer, showing the disciples how to pray, He was asking for what was in heaven to come to earth. How is what is in heaven going to come to earth? Through God’s people. We need to be so connected to God that we understand who we are as God’s people, so that His very kingdom can come to earth through us. 

When we meet people that do not know Jesus personally, what do we have to offer them as Christians? We offer them peace, joy, life, healing among other things. Where does all of that come from? It comes from heaven. When we allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us to help other people, we are partnering with God to bring heaven to earth. That is pretty amazing. It doesn’t matter if we are speaking to our friends at work or we have a platform that reaches many people or we are having conversations with our children, we are making a difference in the lives around us. We are the light in the place of darkness and darkness has to submit to light every time. If we continue to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, now we are occupying the place around us for God. We are not hiding until God comes back to rescue us. How powerful is that?  

Jesus’ purpose on this earth was to bring heaven to earth. But it wasn’t a one time shot. He died for us so that our sins could be forgiven and we could live in right relationship with God. He also left us with the Holy Spirit, so that when Jesus returned to heaven, God’s kingdom could still be revealed on this earth through the Holy Spirit working through us. All we have to be is willing vessels. 

Remember friends, God is always for us. He is never against us. If you recognize that you have been asleep or hanging on waiting to be rescued from this planet, choose to wake up! Tell God you want to be used by Him wherever He has planted you right now. There are people that desperately need Jesus and you might be the only person that can connect them to Jesus. Allow the Holy Spirit to move through you. God loves you so very much. He loves you more than you can understand. He wants to partner with you to bring His very kingdom to earth. What a privilege! He has wonderful things for your life and longs to be adventurous with you!