To Peter, the word of the Father instructing him quieted his heart. When he really sees, he soaks in the reality that “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). Our relationship with Jesus often begins like the transfiguration too: Christ is incomparably beautiful to us. Our relationship is sustained, however, because Christ is intimate, with us, meeting us in interludes of peace, inviting us to look up into his eyes as he leans in.

A Personal God Enables Personal Leadership

In the profound transformations of Paul and Moses, and also Peter, they all came so close—face to face—with God. They walked with a miracle, and they were never the same. When God’s glory lights up our lives and the areas where we serve, he is personal with us, known to us, holding the strings of the Universe together as he reaches to embrace us. Moments of pause and rest are always personal, because real, true, and abiding rest can only be known through a Person. Rest for the Christian leader must be where we begin. Once we’ve rested, soaking in the radiance of God’s glory, then our ministry is simply an overflow of that relationship. Pausing in a selah with Christ will become the catalyst of revival, restoration, and peace. This is what we need for ourselves and for our ministries.

What do you take in, invest yourself in, as rest and nourishment so that you are able to pour it out? I made a list of things that stirred me and began to create a plan for how to incorporate a bit of each one, little by little, into my life:

• Baking with the kids
• Pouring tea in the afternoon
• Reading poetry
• Reading the Sunday paper
• Coffee with a friend
• Night walks under the stars
• Writing out Scripture
• Hand lettering
• Knitting
• Practicing my German
• Oil painting
• Listening to jazz
• Embroidering
• Writing letters
• Reading travel memoirs
• Walking through the galleries at the Met
• Planting herbs
• Making treats for our neighbors
• Arranging flowers
• Reading mysteries

What do you do to rest and fill up so you can pour out? Make your own list today, and make a plan for how you’ll begin incorporating them into your year, little by little.

Kristen Kill is author of Finding Selah, and is a contributing editor at The Better Mom and cohost of At Home with Sally and Friends, a popular podcast with Sally Clarkson. Kristen is passionate about encouraging women who feel stretched thin with the truth that even in the tension, God is singing over them with love.