Restlessness is an uncomfortable feeling. When I feel restless, I feel anxious, as if I should be doing something. If I’m waiting for news, I’m restless until it comes. I’ll do something just to distract myself in an attempt to remove the restless feeling from my mind if only for a moment. I felt restless this past week. We were waiting for news from Malawi concerning an issue that’s been on our horizon for several years (yes, years). The days went by and I was restless. I didn’t feel rested in the morning because I spent the night thinking about the problem. The missionary, pastor’s wife, Bible teacher, and Christian forgot that rest is the cure for restlessness. I felt a bit demoralized, I ought to know better than let myself get wound up in worry.
The cure is an oxymoron
That sounds a bit like an oxymoron. How can you rest if you feel restless? Last week when we were waiting for news from Malawi, I struggled to do even the most mundane task without thinking “What if?” My mind wandered far away and even when I managed to sleep, I was restless. The cure for restlessness escaped me. It was obvious that I was in deep water but I kept on holding to my worry.
One morning as I stumbled to make my coffee, I was grumbling and wondering, “WHEN will this end?” I felt a little nudge in my heart from the Lord, “What are you doing?” I didn’t want to admit to being wrong so quickly. I had reason to worry and wanted to say, “Don’t You see, Lord?” But I knew how to answer the Lord’s question, “I’m worrying.” And as I exhaled those two words, I felt myself unwind.
Luke 12:25 NCV 25 “You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.“
The cure for restlessness isn’t chaos
It felt logical to worry, but there was no positive effect to it. What good came from my internal chaos? Instead of adding time to my life, worry was robbing me of the time I had every day. I wasn’t enjoying the beautiful weather (this is my favorite time of year in South Africa) or my family. In fact, I was so upset that my other work suffered. It took me extra time to finish normal tasks because my mind was distracted.
There’s nothing to profit from being restless with worry. Worry robs today of its joy and tomorrow of its anticipation. If we can’t add anything with worrying, then worry takes away. It’s easy to see when you do the math, worry does not result in anything positive.
Worry has its “What ifs”
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
The demoralizing factor that comes with worry is almost as destructive as the worry itself. When we rehearse all of the “What ifs” in our minds and realize our efforts aren’t a match to the problem, it’s demoralizing. We want to find the cure for our restlessness and worry on our own. But Jesus’ answer is to let it go, learn from Him, let Him bear the burden because His shoulders are broad enough to handle it.
Coffee and my rocking chair
Coffee in hand, I sat in my rocking chair, the place where I talk with the Lord every day. And I asked Him to forgive me for not trusting Him, for preferring to cling to my worry. Hanging on to worry is easy, letting it go is not. Releasing things we can’t control to God takes humility. When I let God take my worry last week, I was saying, “I’m in over my head.” Who likes to admit to that? Well, I’m learning to lean into that truth.
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