Are You Living the Relaxed Life of Jesus?

Editor’s note: Yesterday, we shared a devotion from Megan Fate Marshman’s wonderful new book, Relaxed: Walking with the One Who Is Not Worried about a Thing. You can read it here. Then, read today’s selection. Enjoy!

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Dallas Willard once had this great response when asked if he could describe Jesus in one word. He sat back, took a deep breath, and responded, “Relaxed.”

As we know through Scripture, for Jesus to come across as relaxed doesn’t mean He didn’t grieve or get angry or feel the weight of the world on His shoulders. But it is clear that He was never in a hurry to be anywhere other than where He was, fully present with whomever was right in front of Him, trusting and obeying His Father’s way. Does the word relaxed describe you?

It can.

And for those in Christ, it will!

But for many of us, it probably doesn’t right now. Often the words we would choose to describe our lives would be something like distracted or hurried or anxious — any word besides relaxed. This is because we have been unconsciously trained to figure out and live the Christian life on our own, and the results are weariness, confusion, and burnout.

Why do we succumb to the cultural norms of independence and anxiety instead of living into the relaxed life of Jesus? How will we ever walk with God when we’re so preoccupied with figuring it all out, living better, sinning less, and loving more, all while praying without ceasing? It seems impossible, and it is — on our own.

Relaxed vs. Autonomous

One of the greatest counterfeits to living like Jesus is living in Christian autonomy — trying to be like Him without Him.

I’d sum up autonomy in this context with one word: self-reliant. The problem, of course, is that, from start to finish, the Bible defines the Christian life as one of dependence. When we fall into autonomy, into relying on ourselves, our lives become burdensome, worrisome, and anxious. We fall for distractions and our faith becomes pretense. We become experts at the routines, the lingo, and the habit of acting Christian while rarely engaging in a real, conversational relationship with God.

The One we claim to be following is relaxed, but our lives aren’t. We’re burdened and bothered and ashamed and grieved and angry. We want to grow, but we fear it’s just going to be more ineffective work — work we’ve put in before that felt like a burden. We perform in prayer (if we pray) as we hustle to become better Christians, while experiencing no real power, bearing little to no eternal fruit, unintentionally playing a part in God’s story we were never intended to play: the one in control. It’s a problem.

Jesus said, 

Apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 

It’s a qualitative statement meaning you can do a lot of things, but they will amount to nothing. But man, we can spend a lot of time and energy worrying about a lot of things, can’t we? 

I have been an autonomous Christian who doesn’t know how to slow down and just be with Jesus, and I have tasted the slow, powerful, relaxed life with God that I see in so many of the people whose faith I admire. I’ve had good conversations with Him and felt at ease even as the chaos around me remained the same, but then I’ve simply forgotten to prioritize time with Him the very next day.

If you’re discouraged by this on-again, off-again life with Jesus, don’t worry. Remember, the goal is not striving. Striving for something is what got us into this mess in the first place. The goal is proximity, nearness (and awareness of our nearness) to Jesus.

It’s all going to be okay. 

Really.

It is.

I wish I could look you in the eyes and tell you this.

Stop for a moment. Take a breath. Slow down.

It’s going to be okay.

Trust the Master Weaver

God has already grown you to where you are today. He already knows where you’ll be in five years. He’s moving in your life right now. This is good news: you, the one who doesn’t have to be in charge, can relax. You don’t have to figure it all out right now if you’re in relationship with the Sovereign One. 

• God’s sovereignty means He’s in control of everything. Even as we make choices, He masterfully weaves them all together to fulfill His purposes.

He knows where you’ve been. He knows where He wants to take you. He knows how He will get you there. He wants to walk with you, so you can relax.

God’s plan is not to fix us or our problems or our emotions quickly. His pace toward our long-lasting, endurance-building growth is more of a walk. Nothing about the verb walk suggests speed, hurriedness, or even productivity.

You put one foot in front of the other and you’re taken somewhere else. But when you walk with God, you’re taken in the direction He knows is best. But maybe the direction He’s taking you is different from the direction you were hoping for. More downward than upward. Deeper rather than wider. More about endurance than speed. 

That’s where things get challenging. Endurance is hard, and maybe you’ve gotten tired and given up along the way. The good news is that all you have to do to start walking again is take a step. If you trip or fall, you can get up and start walking again. God has unending grace for you, and that’s what His grace is like. It’s simple, and it moves you forward.

Like a parent watching a toddler learning to walk, God is not angry or surprised when you miss a step. He doesn’t shame you for your misses. He lovingly encourages you to get up and take another step. No sprints or marathons are needed today, friend. Just take another simple step, knowing God goes before you (He leads you in His sovereign path), is behind you (He knows where you’ve come from), and dwells within you (His prayers for you are effective). Walking with God becomes more natural over time.

He greets us warmly with His non-anxious presence, inviting us to just take another step with Him toward Him and forgo autonomous faith. We can do it, one step — or fall — at a time. 

But don’t just take my word for it, listen to His:

“He will.” Did you catch that? In the end, God will make our paths straight. I think some of us would be more comfortable if the verse ended “and you will figure it all out.” Scripture has a better promise: He will. 

He was already working before you read this post, and He will work after you finish it. While you can’t fix yourself, you do have a role to play. You don’t have to have the answers, you just have to be near to the one who does.

Adapted with permission from Relaxed: Walking with the One Who Is Not Worried about a Thing by Megan Fate Marshman, copyright Megan Fate Marshman. 

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Your Turn

Does relaxed feel like a word you can hardly imagine? It’s hard to do when you’re working so hard keeping all the plates spinning, and things organized, and projects done, and work accomplished, and serving offered… all on your own. That’s not the peace that Jesus has called us to. He’s relaxed, so we can be, too! ~ Devotionals Daily