The hammock and a celebration of rest

In our travels around the world caring for pastors and missionaries, we have observed an alarming trend: far too many of God’s servants are overloaded. The culture of high performance and the speed at which changes occur in the world around us have directly impacted the way we live and do ministry. The expectations of others (as well as our own) are causing us to become ill.

What is behind this? Far too often, comparison and guilt have been the fuel of ministry. In many cases, we have been motivated not only by the Spirit of the Lord but also by sinful impulses based on fear, pressure, scarcity, and shame – in short, the manifold attacks of Satan which lead us to do the right things for the wrong reasons.

The author Dallas Willard (a leading expert in spiritual formation) was once asked to describe Jesus in a single word. His answer? “Relaxed!” His reason for this word comes from the profoundly balanced life Jesus lived that we as Christians often neglect. The peace, quiet, and tranquility so characteristic of our faith have been ignored and replaced by a frenzy and competitiveness which is killing our pastors and missionaries. In the attempt to gain the whole world, is it possible that we are forfeiting our souls?

As I was recently spending a lot of time in a hammock while on sabbatical in my homeland of northeastern Brazil (you can read more about the sabbatical here), the idea came to me that the hammock is a beautiful symbol of the rest that God desires for us.

The hammock is one of the many legacies left by the native Brazilians, the first inhabitants of our lands. It dates back to 2500 BC among the Indians in the Americas. The first mention of it in the Portuguese language is in the letter of Pero Vaz de Caminha (the scribe who journeyed with the discoverer's team and describes it in detail) in which he demonstrates surprise at the way the natives slept. Later, the hammock was adopted by the colonizers themselves, mainly for its practicality. It has become a symbol of Brazilian identity and is an essential element in homes, especially in the north/northeast of Brazil. For many, it is the primary piece of furniture for rest – a light and portable "bed" which can be set up inside the house, on the porch, in the backyard, in the park, or wherever there is enough distance between two trees. Let's consider how the hammock might inspire us to experience the rest that God wishes to provide for each of his sons and daughters.

The rest that envelops us

One of the advantages of sleeping in a hammock is being completely covered and enveloped by it. It's the same when we surrender to God; we are enveloped by His love. He covers us completely so that we are filled by Him.

It was Augustine of Hippo who said: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."

At the core of the human spirit is the desire to rest in God, to repose in the love which sustains all things, to surrender to the Father's embrace which envelops and covers us completely. In the words of the psalmist: “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me” (Psalm 139:5).

It is a wonderful feeling to be completely covered – to feel so protected, guarded, and hidden. The promise of God’s Word, so well-illustrated in Psalm 91, is that as we rest in the shadow of the Almighty, we find ourselves covered with His feathers. Paul’s letter to the Colossians also affirms that we are hidden with Christ in God. Just as our body feels surrounded by the hammock, our spirit needs to feel completely enveloped by the Father's embrace.

The rest that sustains us

When we lived in Romania, we hung a hammock in our apartment. It was a great challenge because the walls there tend to be thinner than in Brazil. While drilling in the hammock hooks, the screw came out the other side in the living room. Since we couldn't saw it off, we ended up hanging a small picture of the Lord's Prayer to cover the exposed screw. Our hammock was literally sustained by prayer!

But what is the connection between the hammock and the faith which sustains us and gives us rest? It's that you need a certain level of faith to sleep in a hammock because, after all, you are suspended in the air. When you're in bed, all four bed feet are on the ground, but in a hammock, you're suspended in the air, held by the ropes. This is exactly the feeling we experience when we choose to obey God by resting in Him through faith. Being suspended in the air… How many times have we felt like this, as if there were no ground beneath our feet? Faith has this quality. It invites us to launch ourselves into the unknown, to trust and surrender ourselves completely to the goodness and often invisible and inscrutable purpose of God.

The author of Hebrews, understanding this challenge very well, teaches us:

"Now we who have believed enter that rest… There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience." Hebrews 4:3a,9-11

True, deep rest always comes through faith. They are inseparable. To truly rest, it is important to fully believe that while you rest, God is taking care of your life and ministry. When we decide to stop, we feel as if suspended in the air. On a sabbatical, for example, our lives are suspended. The Sabbath is no different. We need to have confidence that the God who sustains us is also able to sustain our lives and ministry. As the old hymn says, "He's got the whole world in his hands."

The rest that positions us

Have you ever noticed that when you lie in a hammock, you are forced to look up? This is another connection with biblical rest, whether it be a sabbatical or Sabbath rest.

The Sabbath given by God has celebration as its primary purpose - communion with the Creator. The Bible says that God created us on the sixth day and on the seventh, He rested. Thus, man's first full day was a day of rest, the Sabbath. We begin with Sabbath to show us the importance of pausing, of filling ourselves with Him. It is as important to celebrate what has been done as it is to produce. We rest not only because we are tired, but to focus all our attention on the God to whom we belong and serve, to align our priorities and motivations, and to nourish our souls to be able to serve the Lord with joy (Psalm 100).

We observe the sabbath to sanctify it, that is, to separate it from the other days, transforming “chronos” time (i.e. the clock) into “kairos” time (i.e. the opportune/supreme moment). In the words of Pete Greig, in his Sabbath prayer:

May this day bring Sabbath rest to my heart and my home.
May God’s image in me be restored,
and my imagination in God be re-storied.
May the gravity of material things be lightened,
and the relativity of time slowed down.
May I know grace to embrace my own finite smallness
in the arms of God’s infinite greatness.
May God’s Word feed me and His Spirit lead me
into the week and into the life to come.

The rest that cradles us

One of the reasons I've always enjoyed the hammock is that it's fun. The swaying motion it produces gives such a pleasant feeling of lightness and unparalleled enjoyment. This is the great goal of rest! Resting is not doing nothing, but doing what energizes us, what gives us joy. God created our hearts to enjoy, just as He does. We have deep desires implanted by God within us, including the capacity to rejoice. And we know that joy is the fruit of the Spirit.

Rest time is that moment when you pause to allow yourself to smile. How long has it been since you had a hearty laugh? When was the last time you allowed yourself time for fun? It strikes me that, in the English language, the verbs "to pray" and "to play" are so similar. I have learned that rest reconnects us with pleasure - not the false, temporary, soul-numbing pleasure produced by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Rather, rest connects us with the God-given pleasures of delicious food, a good night's sleep, a nap after lunch (preferably in a hammock, if you are fortunate enough to have one), a walk in nature, playing an instrument, reading a good book, or watching a good movie with your family. The list is as diverse as the differences between our personalities and preferences. We simply have to remember that resting is not doing nothing, but doing what energizes you.

Have you ever had the opportunity to lie in a hammock? What did you think of the experience? The invitation of the hammock as a metaphor for rest is to reflect on your life and on your calling. Do you also feel overloaded? Have you been yearning for a time of rest to calm yourself in the Father's embrace and listen to the beat of his heart? Listen to and heed Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message).

“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.
Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me
and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Written by: Jorge Carvalho

The hammock and a celebration of rest

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