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Rejuvenating Rest - Biblical Truth for the Exhausted Woman



📖✨Psalm 19:7 - "The law of the LORD is perfect restoring the soul..."


Burnout is defined as "becoming completely exhausted through overwork; to cause to fail, wear out, or become exhausted especially from overwork or overuse." Martha is a favorite biblical example of what burnout from overwork looks like. When, in Martha's case, it reared its ugly head, it resulted in her reprimanding God Himself (Luke 10:40) when Martha turned to Jesus and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me." Burnout can make us do & say completely ridiculous things! We tend to be quite embarrassed and feel a bit petty when we reflect on the ways we've treated others during times of exhaustion. Let's take a step back and examine the story of Martha & Mary a little more deeply. Although Martha most likely wished she had put her foot in her mouth instead of rebuking the Son of God (I'm sure we can all relate to this at some time or another), she truly is a godly woman and we can learn a lot from her. Here are some of the godly attributes of Martha:


💛 Martha has the gift of hospitality

  • Martha welcomed Jesus & His twelve disciples into her home to stay as guests.

  • Since she is the one who extended the invitation, it is implied that she was of some higher social position and may even have been considered the "head of household."

  • She was able to invite such a large party into her home to stay which indicates that she may have been a woman of considerable means and she was willing to extend the blessings of her wealth to serve & care for others.

  • During Jesus' stay, she had many things to attend to as the "head of household" such as providing comfort to her guests, preparing and cooking meals, baking bread, fetching water, cleaning, and so forth.

💛 Martha is a decisive woman who knows what needs to be done

  • As mentioned above, entertaining guests in one's home brings an extensive to-do list along with it. Martha displayed productive qualities like decisiveness, duty, accommodation, and generosity in showing hospitality to her guests.

💛 Later in the Book of Luke, after her brother Lazarus has died, Martha displays great faith and trust during her encounter with Jesus

  • She wholeheartedly proclaims her belief that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God (Luke 11:27).

  • She trusts that Jesus can do whatever He sees fit in regards to her brother's death (Luke 11:21). She hints at the possibility of Jesus resurrecting him from the dead by confessing, "Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."

Now that we've laid a good foundational character study of Martha, we can see that she's a woman of faith whom we should emulate despite her blunder with burnout. Exhaustion drains our spiritual energy and causes our souls to be parched and lifeless. In the physical sense, a person who is dehydrated may not know it until they experience its dangerous consequences. The physical condition of dehydration is defined as "occurring when more water leaves the body than enters it." Its consequences include: extreme thirst, lethargy, muscle cramps, dizziness, and if it becomes severe enough, death. The spiritual condition of being dehydrated of the Fountain of Living Water (one of the many titles of Jesus ⛲️) similarly includes spiritual thirst, loss of energy, fatigue, confusion, and so on.


This begs the question, what is living water exactly? In John 7:38, Jesus shouts to the crowds, “He that believes in Me, as the Scripture said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Living water means fresh, running water (like from a spring). It has cleansing & life-giving properties. Jesus' invitation to the crowds is referring to the symbolic meaning - the indwelling of the Holy Spirit - which was to come after His resurrection and ascension to Heaven. More on the ministry of the Holy Spirit a little later...


So, friend, let me ask you...How hydrated are you? How rested are you in your soul? Are you running around trying to be everything for everyone? Do you feel drained to the point of lifelessness? Are you attempting to feed your inner self by scrolling on social media or binge watching shows during a rare moment of "me" time? There's a better way! Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water, is offering you a better way, dear one. Let's return to the Scripture at the top of this post.


📖✨Psalm 19:7 - "The law of the LORD is perfect restoring the soul..."


I want to focus on the word, "restoring," in this verse. The Hebrew word used here (shub) means to turn back, return; to bring back {into fellowship with the Lord}; figuratively: "to breathe new life into"


Here are 5️⃣ ways that Jesus breathes new life (restores/shub) into our souls:


✨HE REINVIGORATES - gives new energy or strength to


✨HE REVIVES - restores to life or consciousness


✨HE REFRESHES - stimulates our memory


✨HE ENERGIZES - supplies energy, gives vitality (the state of being strong & active) and enthusiasm to


✨HE STRENGTHENS - makes stronger


What would it be like for you to experience a fresh burst of energy within? To experience life with strength, joy, and vitality? This Psalm contains the key to living an energized life in the LORD: "The law of the LORD is perfect."


The "law of the LORD" mentioned in verse 7 is the Hebrew word, torah. Typically, it is used to refer to the first five books of the Old Testament (Genesis-Deuteronomy), including the law of God as revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. In the context of this verse, however, I believe the general meaning is the Word of God as a whole (the entire Bible).


In John 14:26, Jesus tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit, whom He refers to as the Comforter, will teach them •all things• and bring •all things• to their remembrance. In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul teaches us that, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." By "inspiration of God," Paul is effectively teaching that all Scripture is "God-breathed." In other words, the Holy Spirit wrote the Word of God (the Bible) through men. 🕊📖


The Bible is extremely beneficial & advantageous to our spiritual vitality (see 2 Timothy 3:16):


✨DOCTRINE - applied-teaching; a study to put to practical use; teaching that shapes lifestyle (way of life)


✨REPROOF - to expose wrong and to bring about inner conviction


✨CORRECTION - to restore to its proper condition


✨INSTRUCTION IN RIGHTEOUSNESS - instruction that trains someone to reach full development (maturity) by doing what is right in God's eyes as revealed in His Word through the perfect example of Jesus Christ


When we value the Bible and meditate on God's Word daily, we allow His Spirit to empower us and shape our way of life (our priorities, our thoughts, our actions, our routines, our responsibilities) to the standard of Jesus. We learn about things we may be doing that don't align with His righteousness like gossip, bragging, laziness/idleness, vanity, self-centeredness, greed, pride, anger, and so on and can repent & turn from these things. When we read God's Word, we allow it to restore us to our proper state. We see who we are NOW in Christ and what our new nature is like (2 Corinthians 5:17). We allow His Word to instruct us & train us to reach our full development in Christ. Psalm 19:7 says that His Word is perfect. The Hebrew meaning of perfect is that it's sure, reliable, permanent, established, and complete. In other words, we can trust it and stand on it because it is unchanging and settled forever. God Himself, the Author & Creator of life, revealed it and so it is.


So, how do we put this into a continual practice that allows the Spirit of God to rejuvenate and reinvigorate our souls with His God-breathed energy?


First, we need quiet time with the Lord.

-take five minutes in the stillness of the morning to just relax in His Presence

-take time to be aware of Him and experience His peace, love, grace, joy, etc. before you get busy with your morning routine


Second, we need to have a daily commitment to spending time in His Word.

-customize it to the rhythm of your day depending on whether morning, afternoon, evening, or before bed works best for you

-make sure you have any distractions removed/put away

-commit to a reading plan like "Reading the Bible in a Year" if you need structure to stay consistent


Third, we need the Holy Spirit to open up God's Word to us so that we read it on a heart level and not just a brain level.

-sometimes it is hard to understand the Bible with our natural mind because it contains spiritual & supernatural principles

-we need the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling within us to allow the revelation of God's Word to become heart knowledge so that our lives become transformed


Fourth, we need to become aware of God's Presence throughout our day & stay in fellowship with Him by prayer and worship

-prayer, in its most rudimentary form, is simply conversing with God like you would your spouse, best friend, mother, or father

-in the same way you might pick up your phone and call your husband to check in and "shoot the breeze," you can talk to God during your car ride, errands, chores, etc.

-worship can be as simple as praising and thanking God for the little things throughout the day


Now, let's return to our favorite pair of sisters: Martha & Mary. There are two important truths that Jesus revealed from His encounter with Martha & Mary:

  1. Being a disciple of Jesus and learning His teachings come first! All other things are secondary.

  2. Prioritize correctly!

Simply put, don't let busyness and obligations keep us from spending time in relationship with Jesus and in His Word (even if they are godly acts of service). When we allow our busyness and obligations to consume us, the natural by-product will be spiritual dehydration, burnout, & exhaustion.


💛 Jesus desires our hearts!


Although Martha's gift of service was commendable, she was allowing the weight of her responsibilities to distract her from what was most important in that particular moment - sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning from Him, and being in His Presence. Sometimes the things we "need" to do •are• God-given responsibilities, but we need to learn to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading to know when we can momentarily set those responsibilities aside to focus on the Lord and what He wants to do in our hearts.


Let's take a moment to imagine if Martha halted her supper preparations to sit at the feet of Jesus like Mary did. What would dinner have looked like? It most likely would have been delayed and there would probably be some hungry men, but nobody would have gone to bed unfed or starving. In fact, Mary would then have been available to help Martha and they may have been able to get supper on the table (or couch since the ancient Israelites liked to recline during meals) faster because of the extra help. I know one thing is for sure, Martha would not have been left feeling frazzled, frustrated, and at the end of her rope. Instead, she would have been filled with peace, contentment, joy, and energy to serve Jesus and His disciples because she allowed Jesus to "water" her first!


This post is beginning to run long, but I still have so much I want to share, specifically in regards to the ministry of the Holy Spirit working in our lives! Please look out for Part 2 of this series where we’ll continue discussing the ministry of the Holy Spirit! 💛🕊


Warmly,

-Kate

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Hi, I'm delighted you stopped by!

I'm Kate! I'm a wife & mother who loves Jesus, homemaking, fashion, baking, cooking, writing, photography, calligraphy, and family adventures.

 

I started this blog, Flourishing Grace, as a space to journal my thoughts and encourage myself and other women in embracing and living out biblical principles in our daily lives. I hope you join me on this journey and we can flourish in His grace together. xo

Keep flourishing with me!

Thanks for joining our flourishing community!

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