Staying In God's Rest

 

  There are days when I am positively spent after three minutes out of bed.  I went to bed at a decent hour and slept all night.  I dreamed some, but nothing dramatic. Still I’m just done and the day hasn’t even started.

Am I the only one who has this issue?  I doubt it, but that doesn’t make me feel any better, and certainly not less tired.  Rest.  Why am I not rested?  My mind, even after being in ‘shut down’ mode for the night still struggles with the issues of the day.  I realize it’s not physical fatigue, but mental and emotional exhaustion.  In a word, it’s stress!

The events that have filled my previous day, week and last several months leave me wondering ‘what will be next?’  ‘How long will this trial last?’  And likely sixty more questions just like these.  None of which have an absolute, of even hint, of an answer.

It makes me think about the Hebrew children who didn’t enter God’s rest because they had so little faith.  God became angry because the people would not believe in faith what he had promised.  They faltered, and murmured and complained.  He admonished them, ---and us--- to ‘not be stubborn.’  

Rest comes in a variety of forms.  The most precious rest is that which we find in God.  Sometimes I feel ‘stubborn’ when my mind doesn’t allow me to rest.  I am praying that God would take care of my problem (and I know He will), but ….  There’s that ‘but’!  Am I completely trusting Him?  Or am I worrying (that’s a sin!) about what’s going to happen, what will I do next, how will I manage, what can I do in the meantime? And a hundred other things.  

I admit, I’m allowing my worry to steal my peace!  That’s not what God wants.  I’m human just like everyone else.  And because of that quality, total trust can be elusive, yet that’s just what I must do to have the peace that God gives; the rest that supersedes all my problems!

I know one day there is going to be a greater rest than I can have on this planet.  It will be the joyful rest for eternity in the presence of a God that loves me.  He knows I have faults and stumble along the way.  But when life gets too heavy for me to walk, I know he will carry me and there is so much solace and comfort in that.

This week, do your best to place your trials at the feet of Jesus.  I can promise this isn’t always easy.  It takes effort and focus.  But the God we trust will never fail us---and that’s HIS promise!