Finding Your Reset

Last night, I read an article in our small-town newspaper. The author was writing about the woodland trails that surround our city. He mentioned hiking and pointed out the benches provided along the trails as places for hikers to stop and rest. Then he mentioned something that caught my attention. He said when we hike along trails, the forest inhabitants will grow silent, not knowing if we are a threat. They will wait until we pass. If we stop and sit for a while, the creatures will realize we are not a threat and will return to their normal activities. The author said the forest resets when we stop and rest.

I thought of our lives and how important it is to find a place of rest so the life around us can reset. These resets take place on emotional and spiritual benches we find along the path of our day if we choose to see them. Many times, we walk past these benches never stopping long enough for the situation that surrounds us to reset.  As a result, we are not able to hear the sounds that can make a real difference in our lives and in the world around us.

I recently met a very wealthy man. He is one of the more affluent men in his nation. He owns many corporations. People ask him to speak at conferences around the globe at the highest levels of corporate and government entities. All his resources are focused on helping nations flourish and prosper. His speaking schedule is booked out a year in advance, but each week, for one day he goes into the backcountry near his home to listen to God. He purposefully puts aside his busy life and the demands people place upon him to rest and reflect. He experiences a reset each week. In the reset, he hears things from the Lord that are literally changing entire cultures.

Today, ask the Lord to show you where your resting bench is waiting. Go there and sit for a while. In a few minutes, you will sense your surroundings begin to reset. Clarity will come that is only available in a place of purposeful rest where forward motion is stopped. You will hear things from God not discerned by those who rush past these benches always in motion, wondering why they are not hearing the deeper things of God.