Learning to Be Still

Sleep. It’s one of the simple pleasures that are lost to new mothers. While my wife and I await our second child in a month, we know sleep will inevitably (and joyfully) be sacrificed. With less sleep, we know we’ll be more tired, more grouchy, and probably more unhealthy (I gained like 10 pounds during our first). Not until I experienced such a lack of sleep, did I realize how important sleep is to our bodies. It doesn’t just give us energy for the next day, it heals you. Sleep heals your brain, your bones, your skin, your heart, your immune system, and even makes you more fertile. SLEEP IS AMAZING!

Today, there is not a single person who hasn’t been affected by COVID-19. Stadiums and restaurants are empty. Offices and schools have shut down. Chaos and uncertainty cloud families and the economy. And for some odd reason, toilet paper is flying off the shelves. Today, there are over 350,000 cases and over 15,000 deaths from the virus; and the numbers seem to only be increasing exponentially. This is a pandemic we have never seen nor experienced.

But as I reflect amidst our current season, I cannot help but ask the question: What are you doing here God? Why are you stopping our economy, our work, our lives across the world? Why are you allowing suffering caused by all the stoppage and sickness?

Then it hit me: What if God wants us to stop, so that we can all sleep? So that we can all finally stop and rest.

Globalization has built up a global culture of being overworked. Employees are being overworked with too many hours and expectations. Companies are being overworked to maximize the never-ending goal of productivity and profitability. Families are being overworked to maintain the balance of school, work, and extracurricular activities. Churches are being overworked with always trying to produce better sermons, better worship services, and better programs. Even creation is being overworked with the constant farming, drilling, and draining of its resources… 

But now, as the world has paused, many of us are forced to stop, wait, and maybe, sleep. 

In Scripture, when we look at the Law given to the Israelites after their release from Egypt, the command to stop and rest on the Sabbath is included in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8-11). God took this command so seriously that if you even lifted sticks for firewood, you would be put to death (Ex. 31:15; Num. 15:32-36). And to take the idea of Sabbath further, God established a Sabbath Year, which gave the land rest on every seventh year (Lev. 25:1-7). And then God established the Year of Jubilee, where the land would have rest, debt would be forgiven, property would be restored, and slaves would be freed (Lev. 25:8-55). God didn’t mess around when it came to stopping and resting. 

Because when creation stops and rests, God can begin to heal. 

Now in no way is this pandemic a “good virus”. Sickness, death, and suffering are all consequences of sin. Everything done to protect society and help those in need should be made a priority all across the world.

But, perhaps God is allowing COVID-19 to get the world’s attention. Perhaps He is using this time of quarantine to work on our hearts, our marriages, and our relationship with our Creator? Perhaps He is using our uncertainty and hardships, to bring us back into a deeper trust and obedience to our King? Perhaps He wants to eliminate our distractions and overfilled schedules to rest and sleep. Perhaps He is calling us to pause, so that he can begin to heal his children, his church, and his creation from being overworked? Perhaps...

One of the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 has been that our earth has already begun to produce cleaner water and cleaner air. With the lack of human activity, creation has already begun to heal. The question for us is have we slowed down, rested, and even slept for God to begin healing us too? Or have we let the fears, worries, and sheer amount of information overwhelm and debilitate us? 

Yet, no matter how high the raging storms or thunderous quakes that exist around us, God quietly reminds us in Psalm 46:10...

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

Being still is probably the most difficult posture to be in during this time. Many of us (including myself) are tempted to keep work even more, scroll through our feeds, or binge that new show. But what I strongly feel is God calling us to STOP. REST. And SLEEP.

Because even though we aren’t working, God is working in us and around us. He is sustaining creation, he is healing bodies and hearts, he is calling lost sheep back to him, and he working all things for good (Rom. 8:28). So that when the pandemic becomes a distant memory, He will be the only one receiving all glory, all honor, and all praise. Amen. 

Noah is the Director of Impact and Strategy at Resource Global and an Associate Pastor at Park Community Church in Chicago.

Invest in a Few, Impact the Multitudes

By Noah Chung

One of the common questions we get asked at Resource Global is... “Why do you choose to invest resources and time in young leaders that may already be wealthy and successful in the workforce? Shouldn’t our resources be given towards efforts in church planting, evangelism, or ministry to the poor or oppressed?”

First of all, there is no doubt in our hearts and minds of the continual need for resources, time, and efforts to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20) and to also remember the poor (Gal. 2:10). This is foundational to the mission and life of the Church, and we wholeheartedly stand by it. However, one of the temptations that we see in our Western evaluation of Christianity, is valuing the immediacy of results and numbers over the depth and discipleship that happens over time. How many people were saved? How many mouths were fed? How many Bibles were given? And so on...

Now don’t get me wrong, numbers and results matter in Kingdom work. But the question for us in America (or the West) is... How effective are our current methods and investments towards making long-term Gospel impact in global countries and cities? OR Are we settling for numbers and results over building up and training local leaders to carry the mantle of God’s mission even when we are gone?

The temptation with much of our investments and giving toward global missions is that we, as Americans, want to see immediate or tangible results to our efforts. But when we look at how Jesus decided to start the Church, it wasn’t through just healing people or proclaiming the good news in the streets; it also included the time and energy spent discipling the Twelve. Even with the knowledge that Jesus would not see the Church grow with his own eyes. In addition, the Twelve were not ministers or priests. They were tradesmen, fishermen, a tax collector, and political radicals. Jesus decided to start the church by investing in common people with professional skills, who would be future leaders of the Gospel movement after he left.

And the rest is history…

The early Church exploded. Even amidst harsh persecution, the Gospel took hold of Jews and Gentiles all across the Roman Empire, even outlasting Rome itself. Jesus’ investment in a few impacted the multitudes. And it still impacts us today.

So at Resource Global, we are passionate about investing towards the long-term leadership development of young professionals in global cities. There are many young Christians who are strategically placed in these global cities, who have the networks, are self-sustainable, know the culture, and are passionate about how to impact their spheres of influence with the gospel. They are Zacchaeus who has great wealth. They are Cornelius the Centurion who works in the government. They are Lydia who owns a successful business. They are the Ethiopian Treasurer who has access to powerful people. But these people of influence, still needed the guidance, support, and discipleship from teachers and leaders like Jesus, Paul, and Peter. And at Resource Global, we see young versions of these individuals as having the potential to make an impact 30x, 50x, or 100x more than we could ever imagine.

Already, with three years of working in Indonesia, we’ve seen gospel impact that would have taken way more resources or time if we did it ourselves. We have had a leader start floating hospitals to support those without medical care in the thousands of islands in Indonesia, because of her resources and networks. We have had leaders give abundantly to local ministries and churches that are gospel-centered and they are locally a part of. We have had leaders approach their companies and begin to implement wholistic change away from the typical corruption and bribery that is common in SE Asia. As our cohort alumni continue to invest in their sphere of influences, we see Jakarta, Indonesia, and even SE Asia being impacted with Gospel-centered professional leaders.

So at the end of the day, our goal is not to see immediate numbers and results that is attributed to our skill or our people. Our goal is to see the people we invest into be used for Gospel-centered work in all spheres of life. And one day, we hope that through their passions, skills, resources, and networks, they will impact the multitudes with the power, hope, and love of the Gospel that has changed their lives too.

Noah Chung is the Director of Impact and Communications at Resource Global. He’s been with Resource Global for about four years. He also is a pastor and lives in Chicago.