066: Be Still

April 22, 2010
Psalm 46:10

I got to my office this morning at 7AM, my usual arrival time. I checked email, responded to inquiries, planned 2 lessons, tried to upload grades to my online internal website. I also tried to get through some paper grading before running to my first class. During my half hour break, I ran into my boss in the hall and updated her on a few things in the classroom. I ran to the copy room to copy papers for my second class, and then I taught.

Because it’s Thursday, I ran to the local Christian high school during my lunch break to track down several basketball-shooting students for a much-dreaded (on their part) algebra tutoring session. I ran to my off-site class next and spent 20 minutes planning the next 2 hours and copying short stories and trying to read some papers (multi-tasking really doesn’t do much!). As soon as class was done, I went to a meeting on campus about my full-time benefits (EXCITING!), and then I ran to Target to pick up my brief list for this weekend (I’ve got a wedding in Colorado), before meeting a couple friends for a sushi-dinner meeting to plan for a missions-mobilizing event.

Then it was back to my office for me and working on grading papers and packets and entering them into the website until 10PM. I am utterly exhausted. I love my job – I love that it demands creativity and originality and hard work – but sometimes I exhaust myself. Between my job and my life, I seem to be doing horrible at that lesson I was trying to learn awhile ago about resting. I can feel my body on the edge of collapse – I’ve been running a fever the last couple of evenings – and yet still I think I need to press on. Why do I believe the world will stop if I cease to function?! I’m a little afraid of that answer…

But this verse is a good reminder for me right now: “Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Not me, GOD. And even if I can’t do all my work, God will still be honored. God isn’t honored by my arrogant, self-righteous attitude that I have what it takes to make my life run smoothly… He’s honored by my submission and obedience to Him.

Oh, My God, that I might GET this!