I Have a Question for You
I have an important question for you: Do you ever let yourself get bored?
We live in a culture that makes an enemy out of boredom.
We hate feeling bored so we busy ourselves with 24x7 work, gossip, errands, noise, people-pleasing, or entertainment. When we have things to do and places to go we feel productive and important! But as a result, we don’t get the rest that we need. And eventually, avoiding boredom leads to burnout.
We just can’t sustain a lifestyle of constant activity and stimulation. We need to get into regular rhythms that allow space for quiet moments alone to unplug, be still, and breathe with Jesus. It’s in this place that we discover boredom’s blessing to us: Rest!
So let’s look deeper at why we resist feelings of boredom and then explore how leaning into this quiet space can be a pathway to refresh our souls in Christ…
Why we don't like to be bored:
1. Boredom is uncomfortable.
We don’t like how boredom makes us feel. That’s because all our repressed emotions rise to the surface when we’ve removed all other distractions. We feel empty, insignificant, lonely, anxious, depressed, jealous, angry, resentful, etc.
2. Boredom feels unproductive.
When we’re bored we often feel like we aren’t accomplishing anything. As a result, we may begin to judge ourselves as lazy, weak, inadequate, or a failure. (Or we may fear being judged this way by others.)
3. Boredom shows us our true self.
When we’re bored we come face-to-face with our inner selves. Stripped of all our achievements and ego, we may discover how much we dislike ourselves. This can be very painful.
So after reading all of this, you might be wondering how boredom can be a good thing —everything about it feels so horrible!
Let’s look deeper…
The Gift of Boredom
The pain and emptiness of boredom push us to cry out to God and safe friends for the care we need. In this way, boredom can be medicine that helps us get well!
Yes, at first we will feel antsy, even distressed. But that’s the Spirit of Truth surfacing our stresses, hurts, desires, and needs for God’s loving care (Psalm 139:23-24; John 16:13).
If we lean into the discomfort and receive soul care from one or more of Christ’s ambassadors, we’ll discover the other side of boredom: real rest and real fruit.
With regular practice, this will break the power of busyness, hurry, and loneliness. And best of all…
We’ll be relieved to discover that the world is not on our shoulders after all!
We will find ourselves and we will be found by God in fresh ways.
Joy and peace will bubble up within us and flow out of us.
We will experience true, soul-nourishing rest.
The soul anchor established on the other side of boredom will remain solid when we return to our daily life and responsibilities. We’ll learn to enjoy the soul-rest and grace-power that go with being in Jesus’ easy yoke of intimacy with his Abba (Mathew 11:25-30).
May the Lord help us all to learn to enjoy regular rhythms of rest so that our lives, relationships, and work will be healthier and we can effectively love God and our neighbors.
—Bill Gaultiere of SoulShepherding.com