God is.

Still on vacation, I am fighting the urge to be back at "work" and in the routine of daily life. I guess that is a sign that vacation is proving effective but it may also be a sign of something else that isn't altogether healthy. Getting back to work might be a diversion away from the truly important matters of life and a step back into the illusions of things that we think are important but may not be of first importance.

Either way, there is something about which I've always been aware, but my attention to it has been elevated this past week. The reality of which I've been reminded is, that God is. Period. That's it. God, by nature, simply is. Always.

In ministry, I've found the concept of "going on vacation" a little bit weird. How does one "go on vacation" from trying to help people in the name of Jesus? It is similar to the concept of "retirement." How does a minister ever retire from ministry? While the location of their office may change, a minister never retires from ministry unless they retire from God Himself. After all, we're all ministers in the Kingdom of God (1 Pet. 2:9) and the concept of retirement (especially from Kingdom service) doesn't appear in Scripture. Even in prison, the apostle Paul didn't retire, he kept writing letters to churches.

This past week, I've done considerable thinking about the whole matter and what balance I've found is that while we may relax and restore ourselves physically, spiritually there are no vacations. In fact, when a minister is "away" from the office and his or her daily responsibilities, it should be a period of time for greater pursuit of an even deeper spiritual relationship with the Creator.

By way of confession, I'll say for the record that this vacation I've devoted more time to my faith walk with Christ than in any previous vacation I've ever taken. Deep times of meditation, prayer, reading of Scripture and simply being quiet and solemn. It has been perhaps more transformational than even the best R&R vacations I've taken where I find myself either sleeping on the beach after a long surf session or dirt biking in the tall pines. This vacation I have found a deeper sense of refuge with the Lord and it is a place I want in my life as something more than an occasional visit. This needs to become my new residence. If this is vacation, I don't ever want to go home!

The power of this restoration I'm experiencing on this "vacation" is that God is. He never sleeps. He never slumbers. He is always mindful of us. He is always "not far from us" (Acts 17:27) and longs to be sought by us.

Whether you serve in full-time ministry or not, my encouragement is for us to not move away from the Lord in our time off, but instead find ourselves moving toward Him. It takes lifelong intentional effort to move from the "obligations" of relationship with God into the realm of "treasure." Remembering that Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:21).

Next week I'll be back in the office on a regular schedule, but as I never intend to retire from the honor of serving in the name of Jesus, I also intend to never come off this "vacation." The time has just been too sweet and no other vacation will ever compare.