THE HEALTHY LEADER: FINDING REST IN A RESTLESS WORLD

We live under a weight of demands that can be debilitating. We become overscheduled, overworked, and overstimulated which become chronic stressors that lead to behavioral, mood and attention disorders. We cannot see that we are causing ourselves physical, emotional and behavioral health problems as we try harder to go faster and do more. In a world gone mad, our souls have been drained and depleted, and we are just trying to make it through each day with very little room to breathe. How do we handle the stress? The pressure? The pace? How do we find rest?

For most of us, this is what our lives look like: work> work> work> work> work> work> vacation!!! >work >work>work>work>work>work>vacation!!!

What if I were to tell you that there is a better way to live?

When I experienced burnout several years ago, it was difficult for me to find rest. I was exhausted, tired, and depleted all the time. I was not only tired physically, I was tired mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Outwardly, it appeared like I was successful. I was pastoring a successful growing church but inwardly I was tired and exhausted. I was burnt out. I was spent. I was numb. I was breathing, but not living. I was just going through the motions of life but not really enjoying life.

I went to bed early, I took naps during the day, and I even took a weekly day off, sometimes, yet, I never really was able to find real rest. What I came to realize was that what I needed was more than a nap, more than a vacation, and more than a day off, I needed rest for my soul.

Soul rest is the the most important rest that we all need as leaders. I love what David writes in Psalm 23, "He restores my soul." We don't just need a day off from our jobs, we need rest for our souls. Our soul is the seat of the mind, heart, and the emotions. We give out so much, that if we don't rest our souls, we will burn out. I have discovered that burn out is not doing too much but giving what we do not possess.

How do we find rest in a restless world?

1. EMBRACE YOUR LIMITS.

Life works best when we live within our limits and recognize that limits are a gift from God. Many of us are living our lives with NO LIMITS. God wants us to embrace a life in which we KNOW LIMITS. Central to living a healthy life is recognizing that God is God and we are not. Only God is unlimited. Knowing our limits and embracing those limits can actually the be key to you becoming the person God created you to be and live the life God intends for you to live and finding true rest. We need to recognize that the title Pastor or Leader does not mean Superman or Superwoman. We are human and we need rest.

2. PUSH PAUSE.

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-29 MSG, Jesus says, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest." Jesus says that if we are going to find real rest, we need to come to Him. The way we come to him is by pushing pause. When we pause we get quiet before God, settle down, and center ourselves. When we pause we give ourselves permission to breath and come back to God. Pushing pause allows us to be human, notice our emotions, and allows us to just be. Pausing opens our souls to God, it connects our soul to God, and it keeps us in connection with God. When we pause we rest, when we rest we find Jesus.

I have been learning to:

Pause daily. I pause in the morning for a time of silence and prayer. I pause throughout my day to be with God with what is. Pausing daily invites God into the madness of my day, it centers my soul and opens my heart to His presence.
Pause weekly. Every week I observe the Sabbath from 6pm on Friday night to 6pm on Saturday night. I unplug, refuel, eat some great food, get out into nature and reflect on the goodness of God. I don't run errands, catch up on chores, or do any sort of work. It's a day to stop working, delight in God's presence and rest in Him.
Pause Monthly. Every month I take a day to be with God. It's a day to find rest for my soul, my mind and my emotions and to be present with Jesus.
Pause Yearly. This is not a vacation. This is a time to rest in God while on vacation. I schedule in during my vacation time for soul rest. It's like putting together multiple Sabbath days of resting, reflecting, and being with God and enjoying His goodness and blessings.

3. UNPLUG.

You may not realize it but our phones, laptops, watches, televisions are draining and depleting our souls. The constant over stimulation from these devices are not helping us but hurting us. We are becoming more and more addicted to technology and it is doing violence to our souls. Who you are plugged into and what you are plugged into will determine your joy, your peace, your strength, your outlook on life, and your perception of reality. Our lives are filled with a relentless assault on our attention and we have to put a stop to it.

What happens when we don’t unplug?

We become overwhelmed by the world and our circumstances.
We become vulnerable to temptation.
We are numb to our needs and the needs of those around us.
We are less present to our souls, our hurts, our needs, our disappointments, our fears, the less present we are to God.
We grow farther away in our relationship with Jesus.

If you are going to find rest for your soul, you've got to create times in your day in which you
unplug from everything else. For me it begins at 7:00pm-7:00am every day. I completely unplug during my Sabbath. I also unplug during times in my day that I am writing and spending time with God. For exmple, I am completely unplugged right now as I write! Unplugging has been a great way to rest my mind, my heart and my soul from the craziness of the world.

4. REFILL YOUR BUCKET.

What fills your bucket? What refuels you? What fills your soul? For me it's nature. I love being in nature. I love walking, running, biking, fishing, hiking and the beach. I try to do this several times a week. Get outside. Sit on the back deck. Walk. Look at the trees. Smell the flowers. Drive with my windows down.

I also have grown to love theater, music, the arts and the symphony. Ruth and I try to make it out to check out the arts a few times per year. We have grown to love the arts, music, and theater. Recently on my trip to see my son in Miami, we took time to visit an art gallery in his neighborhood. Our souls were filled as we looked at the incredible art pieces by young up and coming artists.

We all need to get in touch with our souls and what our souls need. Some of us just enjoy sitting down reading a great novel while drinking coffee, maybe some of us enjoy drawing and sketching, or maybe biking or fishing. When we are busy, we often don't create the space for things that fill our bucket. What I am learning is that when I am busy I am really being lazy because I have not been intentional about caring for my soul. Find what refills your bucket and do it regularly.

5. MOVE YOUR BODY.

There is something about exercise that makes me feel better about myself and helps me rest my soul. It is proven that exercise improves your mood, increases self-confidence, helps you relax, improves your sleep, and lowers symptoms of mild depression and anxiety. Exercise also reduces levels of the body's stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It stimulates the production of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that are the body's natural painkillers and mood elevators. If you are going to find rest you have to move your body, exercise, walk, run, or find something that moves you physically. When you move you body you will rest your soul.

What steps does God want you to take to focus more on your soul than your role? What small changes can you make in your week that will create time and space to rest your heart and soul? I am living my best life because I recognize that I don't rest from work, I work from rest. I have learned to start my week rested and each day rested. My day does not start in the morning, but it starts at night. God first created the night then the day. The day begins while we are sleeping. When we wake up the day is usually 6 or 7 hours old. This is how God has designed us to live our lives and to work from a rested soul.

Recommended resource: "Get Your Life Back" by John Eldridge