REST
We do some pretty silly things in life, such as working our tails off just to take a vacation. Maybe it's because I have four kids, but taking a vacation sure is a lot of work. I'm in the "Oh my, I have so much to do I don't know where to start so I'm just going to blog which means I'll be up until 1am the night before we leave" phase. Know that one?
But the Lord gently reminded me tonight of what He's been trying to teach me. You see, He's had his work cut out for Him (or not, because He's God and these things really aren't so hard for Him) because He's been trying to teach me about rest. That is a word I know very little about. In fact, it's a little ironic that I'm up at 11:57 pm writing about rest. I like to be good at what I do, so I guess since I'm not good at resting, I just don't do it. But it's time for things to change.
The Word is full of verses telling us not to be lazy, to work out our salvation, and to be busy about the Lord's work. I hear those passages and it just clicks with me and I start to work like a busy little bee. But tucked away in the midst of all that working and serving, there are commands and provisions for rest. Even God rested after He threw together a little something He likes to call The Universe, and last time I checked, God doesn't even get tired. He did it as an example to us and as a picture of what we are to have in Him.
REST
There's an endless amount of work around here to do, an endless amount of opportunities to minister to my family and my friends, an endless amount of valuable things that demand my time and attention. But in the midst of all that, it's so easy to forget the One who put all these things in my life. He knew we'd get busy and frazzled and distracted and so He made one of The Big Ten (you know, commandments) to observe that day He had set aside for rest.
I am seeking to take our Sabbath (which we observe on Sunday because we're not all legalistic or anything and we love to celebrate some resurrection action!) more seriously. Not to lounge around on the couch, necessarily, but to make it more of a point on that day to be physically still and mentally and emotionally available to my family. I am trying to make that the day when I can drop everything and spend time with my Lord and my family and not feel a bit guilty about it, no matter how many piles of laundry there are. The Lord made the Sabbath for us. It must be a good thing.
Not only am I seeking to observe a day of more restfulness than busyness. I am really seeking the kind of rest that we should have every moment of every day in the depths of our being. The kind of rest the Lord is speaking of when He said, "Be still and know that I am God." The kind of rest that allowed Jesus to sleep on that boat in the middle of a life-threatening storm. The kind of rest that exists even when my body is busy working. The kind of rest Jesus promised to the weary and burdened.
If I am still and know to the depths of my soul that My Father is God Almighty and He's on His throne, what do I have to fear or worry about or get frazzled about? The One who loves me so and is more powerful that we can imagine is in charge (or in chawge as Luke likes to say). That fact should be enough to fill me to the brim with a faith that allows me to rest peacefully in the midst of the fiercest storms.
As a girl who knows all about being stressed, weary, and burdened, I am ready to be done with that. I am ready for rest. We are promised as God's children that one day we will enter His rest. We'll be with Him in heaven and our souls will be at rest forever. But I don't have to wait until heaven. Even while I'm still being tossed about and covered by waves in this flimsy little boat here on earth, I can have rest for my weary soul.
So, as I run frantically from one corner of the house to the other packing up everything and the kitchen sink, as I prepare for Vacation Bible School and the upcoming mission trip, and do everything in between, I will seek to be at rest. I will picture my strong Savior snoozing peacefully down below as others feared for their lives and know that I can be resting comfortably with Him rather than being frantic and fearful.
I will rest.
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
Nighty night.
But the Lord gently reminded me tonight of what He's been trying to teach me. You see, He's had his work cut out for Him (or not, because He's God and these things really aren't so hard for Him) because He's been trying to teach me about rest. That is a word I know very little about. In fact, it's a little ironic that I'm up at 11:57 pm writing about rest. I like to be good at what I do, so I guess since I'm not good at resting, I just don't do it. But it's time for things to change.
The Word is full of verses telling us not to be lazy, to work out our salvation, and to be busy about the Lord's work. I hear those passages and it just clicks with me and I start to work like a busy little bee. But tucked away in the midst of all that working and serving, there are commands and provisions for rest. Even God rested after He threw together a little something He likes to call The Universe, and last time I checked, God doesn't even get tired. He did it as an example to us and as a picture of what we are to have in Him.
REST
There's an endless amount of work around here to do, an endless amount of opportunities to minister to my family and my friends, an endless amount of valuable things that demand my time and attention. But in the midst of all that, it's so easy to forget the One who put all these things in my life. He knew we'd get busy and frazzled and distracted and so He made one of The Big Ten (you know, commandments) to observe that day He had set aside for rest.
I am seeking to take our Sabbath (which we observe on Sunday because we're not all legalistic or anything and we love to celebrate some resurrection action!) more seriously. Not to lounge around on the couch, necessarily, but to make it more of a point on that day to be physically still and mentally and emotionally available to my family. I am trying to make that the day when I can drop everything and spend time with my Lord and my family and not feel a bit guilty about it, no matter how many piles of laundry there are. The Lord made the Sabbath for us. It must be a good thing.
Not only am I seeking to observe a day of more restfulness than busyness. I am really seeking the kind of rest that we should have every moment of every day in the depths of our being. The kind of rest the Lord is speaking of when He said, "Be still and know that I am God." The kind of rest that allowed Jesus to sleep on that boat in the middle of a life-threatening storm. The kind of rest that exists even when my body is busy working. The kind of rest Jesus promised to the weary and burdened.
If I am still and know to the depths of my soul that My Father is God Almighty and He's on His throne, what do I have to fear or worry about or get frazzled about? The One who loves me so and is more powerful that we can imagine is in charge (or in chawge as Luke likes to say). That fact should be enough to fill me to the brim with a faith that allows me to rest peacefully in the midst of the fiercest storms.
As a girl who knows all about being stressed, weary, and burdened, I am ready to be done with that. I am ready for rest. We are promised as God's children that one day we will enter His rest. We'll be with Him in heaven and our souls will be at rest forever. But I don't have to wait until heaven. Even while I'm still being tossed about and covered by waves in this flimsy little boat here on earth, I can have rest for my weary soul.
So, as I run frantically from one corner of the house to the other packing up everything and the kitchen sink, as I prepare for Vacation Bible School and the upcoming mission trip, and do everything in between, I will seek to be at rest. I will picture my strong Savior snoozing peacefully down below as others feared for their lives and know that I can be resting comfortably with Him rather than being frantic and fearful.
I will rest.
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
Nighty night.
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