Counteract a self-help culture with a life of restful exertion

What is the right response to grace?

By

Michele Morin

I’ve noticed myself becoming impatient with some of this year’s newly-published books, which seem to be running toward Christianity as a self-improvement project. Scanning the lists from publishers, it dawned on me that there’s no way I can be or do all that’s being promised. It is beyond my scope to fix all the unspoken brokenness that populates our world, the church, or even my own heart. It’s exhausting!

Psychologist Svend Brinkmann calls this “self-optimization fatigue.” When we latch onto our faith as a self-improvement plan, there’s no end to all the work that needs to be done.

And worst of all, there’s that temporary feeling of having “arrived.”
“Just look at me, working on my marriage!”
“I’m sure tearing it up with my self-care routines this week!”

And it’s not long before we fall into the satisfied rut that follows a season of concerted exertion.

A Theology of Restful Exertion

Nearly one hundred years ago, Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned the church about “cheap grace,” and we’ve lined up in droves to get our theology straight on this point, which Bonhoeffer has masterfully defined:

“Grace is costly because it calls us to follow;
it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.
It is costly because it cost a man his life,
and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”

God’s grace is muscular and abundant. It will support me even if I were unable to lift a finger to advance the Kingdom of God.”

But there is a call to follow, which I am prone to turn into a do-list. I’m supported in this by a culture that deifies organization and full schedules–but we don’t call it idolatry. We call it “efficiency” and then write a blog post or even a book about how to do it well.

What, then, is our correct response to God’s lavish grace?

Rest is Our Right Response to Grace

Psalm 116 records the psalmist’s response to deliverance. God had delivered his eyes from tears and his feet from stumbling. He owed his precious life to God’s great intervention, and this was his response to God’s bounty:

Return, O my soul, to your rest.” (Psalm 116:7)

He probes this conclusion again in verses 12 and 13:

What shall I render to the LORD
for all his benefits to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:12, 13)

God does not work on a barter system where I take grace and then render to him my service as a Sunday school teacher. He does not require three casseroles per month for the needy.

God is self-sufficient. He needs nothing, so the only acceptable response to his “benefits to me” is humble acceptance. Lifting up “the cup of salvation” to him implies that I know he is the only one capable of filling it. When I “call on the name of the LORD,” I admit that all my efforts and self-improvement projects amount to ashes.

Am I making this sound “simple” or “easy”? On the contrary, we have been enculturated to the practices and values of a self-help culture. Rest is not our default, and it’s not an easy posture. Can you relate to rest being hard? Maybe the word “rest” conjures images of lounging in a recliner or lying out by the pool. But if you are anything like me, rest equals struggle.

God’s valuable and expensive grace invites us to a life of restful exertion. Let’s admit to each other (and ourselves) that striving is useless and leads to exhaustion. Rest brings nothing to the equation and relies entirely on God’s power and grace. The only right response to God’s magnanimous gift of salvation is our restful and grateful yes.

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. Active in educational ministries with her local church, Michele delights in sitting at a table surrounded by women with open Bibles. You can find more of her writing at her website, Living Our Days, where she writes about the books she is reading and the grace she is receiving.

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Join us for our first webinar of the new year. Author John Eldridge says, “You cannot be a good writer if you don’t live a soulful life.” But making space for practices that keep you refreshed and energized can be easily pushed to the side as you focus on serving your readers, strengthening your share of voice, and pursuing your writing craft. Without soul care included in your writing routines, you may find yourself feeling depleted and defeated creatively. Safeguarding Your Soul as a Writer offers simple practices that can be woven into your daily writing life to help you retain your love of the craft, even in seasons filled with deadlines and demands. These practices may be used individually or in tandem to help you live a soulful life.

About Our Guest: Ronne Rock weaves themes of transformative hope into everything she shares on page and stage. An award-winning marketing & communication executive, she travels globally to cultivate stories of life-change with Orphan Outreach. Ronne is an author, speaker, mentor, and coach—offering road-tested wisdom to writers and nonprofit professionals on ethical storytelling and fundraising, how to move patrons to partnership, and how to not lose your soul as you share your craft with the world. Her poignant stories are included in a number of anthologies, and she is the author of four books, including One Woman Can Change the World: Reclaiming Your God-Designed Influence and Impact Right Where You Are.