Take a break | Previous Challenge Entry

how it works

TITLE: Take a break | Previous Challenge Entry
By Wendell Owens
02/09/06
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School kids do it, College people do it, people in the work force do it, we all take breaks!
Every year while we are pursuing our education there are spring breaks, summer breaks, winter breaks, holidays, vacations and weekends.
The only thing that changes in the work force is we we lose the seasonal breaks, but our vacations fill in the void.
The point is we "take breaks" to relax, recover from stress or illness, or just in solitude for peace of mind, but we must take those breaks or we will break.
Even God commands us to take a break! If you read the first few lines of Psalms 23 you will see that it is mandate by God to take a break. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me besides the still waters, He restoreth my soul."
Notice the word "maketh me?" Somtimes God, for your own good, has to MAKE you stop what your doing, and rest. He makes you take a vacation so to speak. He knows you can only bear so much before you break and become useless to Him, so He makes you rest.
I have seen Him take me from the heat of the battle with the enemy and remove me back to the place of rest. For those of us who have been military recognize this as R&R, rest and realxation.
The problem is we get so pre-occupied and intense with doing the "work" of the Lord we pass by His opportunities to rest and relax. God does not allow this to go unnoticed, and causes or allows things to happen either in your health or ministry to MAKE you rest for a season. It's not that He has removed His anointing from us, it's just that we are so worn out, we become ineffective for Him.
So, if the battle is becoming too hot, if you are feeling ineffective lately for Christ, then it's because you haven't taken that mandate to rest and pushed too far beyond your strengths.
My prescription to you is "take a break." Go back to the place of rest God has ordered for you, and be refreshed in Him. Then when your strong again, jump back into the fray, bust open the gates of Hell, and set the captives free in Jesus name.
The last part of Psalms 23 is my favorite. It says, "He sets a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, He anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over."
Even when your resting and restoring, the enenmy tries to attack, but God sets us down to a table of southern fried chicken and mashed "taters" and lip smacking banana pudding and we get to rest while He takes care of our enemy. Ain't that just the best? What a God we serve huh?
Take all the breaks you can get folks, the battle is just going to get worse in the coming days, and your going to need them. If you don't, God's going to make you do it anyway, so enjoy!

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