Ministry is a tricky thing, because you’re never really done until Christ returns. Even if you’re not a minister, 21st century life is hectic and responsibilities are demanding. Building in an extra ‘sabbath’ into your schedule will keep from feeling overwhelmed and refreshed by seeking the Lord through the Word and prayer.
A 29-year-old John Stott was overwhelmed with his ministry responsibilities as Rector of All Souls Church.
How would all of his administrative tasks not bury him? How would he spiritually nourish himself enough to feed those he served?
Young Stott didn’t know what to do—until he attended a pastor’s conference and received counsel from a wiser, older pastor:
Take a quiet day once a month. Go away into the country, if you can, where you can be sure of being undisturbed. Stand back, look ahead, and consider where you are going. Allow yourself to be drawn up into the mind and perspective of God. Try to see things as he sees them. Relax!
And Stott’s response?
I went home, and immediately marked one day a month in my diary with the letter ‘Q’ for Quiet. And I began to enjoy these days, the intolerable burden lifted and has never returned. In fact, so valuable did these days prove that for many years I have tried to manage one a week. I use them for those items which need unhurried and uninterrupted time—long-term planning, problems I must think and pray over, difficult letters, preparation, reading and writing. These quiet days have brought immense blessing to my life and ministry.
Following the preacher’s practical suggestion gave Stott the spiritual and mental clarity and quiet he needed for ministry—and it can help you as well.
Ministry is a tricky thing, because you’re never really done until Christ returns. Even if you’re not a minister, 21st century life is hectic and responsibilities are demanding. Building in an extra ‘sabbath’ into your schedule will keep from feeling overwhelmed and refreshed by seeking the Lord through the Word and prayer.
The problem for many of us (myself included) is that we often don’t have the ability to take one extra day off per month, let alone per week! We probably won’t keep the same schedule as Stott, but we can seek to regularly incorporate rest, prayer, planning, special projects, and study in other ways that fit into our schedules.
How I Apply This Principle
For me, this means that every month or so, I take an hour or two out of my work day to reflect on what I have accomplished and what I hope to accomplish. I draw near to God in prayer, not always out of urgent necessity, but with a humble desire to abide in Him.
