Press The Elevator Buttons

Buttons are there to be pressed!  Watch any toddler who encounters a button, they love to press them. Whether they be buttons on the remote, buttons in a lift, windscreen wiper buttons, or buttons on your phone. They press them because they usually get an immediate or direct response.

As kids, my brothers and I would love to press all the buttons in a lift as we were exiting, so that the lift would stop at each floor for whoever got in after us. This would have been extremely annoying for anyone who wanted to go straight to a high floor but having to stop at every level along the way.

I once read a story about an adult who would deliberately get into a lift in a tall sky scraper and then press all the buttons. They would then exit and leave a handwritten message in the lift. The note gave instructions for those entering the lift to enjoy the small break from the busyness of life, and take time to breathe.

In the Bible, Jesus would often do something similar for his disciples. No, not in lifts, but He would give them some time out to rest, away from the crowds and their hectic schedules. He knew that they wouldn’t be able to continue their great work if they didn’t take some time to rest and spend time with God.

Conventional wisdom says that busyness is necessary in order to thrive in today’s world, but sometimes our lives can get so unbalanced that things can get out of control.

At times, rest can seem like a daunting task, even a vain pursuit, when there is always something more that we need to get done. Our schedules are full, and the long list of projects is always there, waiting to be tackled.

The busyness of life can even take us away from spending time with God. We need to be intentional about scheduling ‘time out’ from our busy lives. Plan a walk in nature, read for enjoyment, sit and watch a sunset, laugh with friends, embrace a daytime nap, listen to music, but most importantly, take time to connect with God. Time with God gives us true rest, renewal, and a time to recharge from our busy, and sometimes unbalanced, lives.

I encourage you to press the lift buttons in your lives (not literally) and give yourself some time to breathe, rest and reconnect with God.

Have a great Term 4 everybody, 

Chaplain Phil