Entering God's Rest
It's such a hard life I live! I have been vacationing in beautiful Captiva Island, FL for the past week and have another week here in this paradise to look forward to yet. I am here with all the Buffingtons. They are so good at taking great vacations. Nearly every year they set some money aside to spend on taking a nice relaxing vacation. I think this is so healthy. It is a blessing to be able to have the means to do this. I am even more blessed to be able to benefit from their generosity and be able to join them on vacation.
I love it here. I think the hardest part about vacation will be leaving! The house we are in is so beautiful and just a few houses down from the Gulf of Mexico. I have had a lot of time to retreat under the loving sheltering wings of God. I have gotten into a nice routine here- which I will try to stay close to even when I return home. It has been so life-giving and refreshing for my spirit.
I wake up and feed myself and Eli. Then we take a nice long walk of a few miles and during that quiet time while Eli is happily chilling out in his stroller checking out the sites, I have a good time of being able to focus and pray with few distractions other than an occasional smile from Eli peaking up through the back of his stroller. I have found a profound connection in my life with staying physically fit and spiritually fit. They seem to really go hand in hand. When I am neglecting one I often am neglecting the other. Both require discipline. So when I can do them both together that is all the better for me. I know I might be unique in this way- but this is a pattern I have found to be true in my life.
After our walk it is time for Eli's nap. During that time I put on my bathing suit and go soak up some rays and some Truth. I have needed to spend more time in the Word but with out it being a regularly priority and part of my routine it is often something that gets neglected. It has been wonderful to eat from the Bread of Life this week. It truly does bring abundant life in greater ways than anything on this earth could provide. I am trying to set this into my daily routine so it is a natural part of my day and existence as it truly should be and needs to be.
I do know God desires to give me rest. I need His rest and I need to enter that place. It is a place that I can choose to enter into. It is a place He invites us to, but the only way to get there is by faith. Hebrews 4:3, For only we who believe can enter his place of rest." While yes, I know this scripture is talking about eternal life- after our earthly bodies fail. I do believe it is deeper than that. I think His rest is also something we can enter into now on earth. This seems clear in Hebrews 4:6-7, "So God's rest is there for people to enter...So God set another time for entering his place of rest, and that time is today." His rest is available for us to enter into now.
He gives us this promise along with the invitation to His promised rest in Hebrew 4:10-11. "For all who enter into God's rest will find rest from their labors, just as God rested after creating the world. Let us do our best to enter that place of rest." It is a place we can go and are invited into. But we have a part to do as well. We must CHOOSE to go and do more then just go- we must go by faith and believing God's word to be true- that He will give us the rest He promises us as we come to Him.
We are bid to come to Him for rest over and over again through out scripture. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus calls out, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."
He calls out to us to come. He wants us to come- He knows it is for our own good. He loves us and wants us to share in His rest with Him. His yoke is light and easy. He wants to teach us. For Him to teach us we need to do our part. What is our part? To come to Him in faith. How do we come to Him? It is not usually (or ever) a cosmic mystical thing. It is practical and often ordinary. We stop what we are doing. We put our own agendas aside. We are quiet and still before Him. We love on Him and worship Him and adore Him. We tell Him those things. We give Him thanks- for there is no greater sacrifice we can give Him other than our thanks and praise. We spend time seeking Him by praying and reading His word. We spend time just being still and resting in His shadow- opening our hearts to hearing His voice. How can we expect to hear his voice if we aren't going to Him regularly to listen, and if we aren't ever quiet before Him in His presence? He has glorious riches for us within our reach- all we need to do is reach out to Him and receive the blessings He so longs to give us.
I looked up the definition of yoke and saw that it is a bond or tie that keeps things or people together. God tells us that His yoke fits perfectly. The load He gives us is light. He will not wear us down- but instead He is our wellspring of life.
Again we see the need to enter into God's rest in Psalm 91:1-2 & 4, "Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare of the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him. He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection."
This is such a beautiful image of God's promised rest for us. He truly loves us and wants to refresh us with His presence and shelter.
I have been so weary lately as I have come to Him. I am in awe of His faithfulness to me by refreshing me and reviving my spirit. There have been some really hard days lately- and being a single mom of a one year old brings with it a lot of other challenges that only again show me my deep need to enter into God's rest. I am at a place of complete reliance on Him and His grace. He is showing me over and over that apart from Him I can do nothing. That includes rest- I need more than just a good night's sleep to be rested and refreshed and able to give to my son and others around me. I need to be refreshed by my Creator and to rest in Him.
It is amazing how much of it is simply a faith issue. As I come to Him BY FAITH I am reminded that I have all that I need in Him and that He will supply all that I need. I am reminded that He loves me and cares for me and has good things for me. I am reminded that He works all things together for the good of those who love Him. I am reminded that I do not have to be perfect to be loved- but that my acceptance is based on what Christ has done for me not on what I do for Him. Instead obedience flows out as a result of the love Christ has shown me. His kindness leads us to repentance. I am also reminded that God is a fierce God and He is to be feared. I love how perfect He is. This is something I have been reflecting on all morning. He is the perfect balance of grace and truth and love and discipline. He is humble and gentle yet fierce and mighty. There is none that can compare to His surpassing greatness. I am in awe of Him.
2 Corinthians 5:7, "That is why we live by believing and not by seeing." All that we do and our complete existence as Children of God is BY FAITH. All that we do is by faith. We do not do things based on what we see. We certainly do not live based on how we feel. This is an area that is easily gray. Our feelings seem so real to us- they seem worthy of our trust. But God does not lead us by feelings, He leads us with His truth and by His word. Although I know we have discernment and He can use our feelings to guide us- that is not what we should live our lives based on. We live by believing and not by seeing or feeling.
I know for myself I might feel one way but by taking those feelings to the cross of Christ I see that I was wrong. By replacing that with what the bible says is true I can- BY FAITH- act my way into feeling instead of feel my way in to acting. The word says God loves me and that I am His treasured possession. So when I have a feeling that says- I am not loved and when I feel lonely, as I take that to God and replace those thoughts with Truth I realize- that I am loved and accepted and wanted and appreciated- that is Truth. It is a discipline but we are supposed to be in control of our emotions and not let them be in control of us.
One huge word of encouragement I read this week has really been carrying me and helping me with this discipline. I have been meditating on this and using it to fight off doubt and discouragement I feel. 2 Corinthians 12:8, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness."
I have read this and re-read these words. They seemed to jump off the page to me one morning as I was weary and in need of encouragement. Now as I feel worn down I remind myself of this truth. God's gracious favor is all that I need which means that I have all that I need! I shouldn't feel as though I need more- I have all that I need. When I do feel weak even then I should feel strong and encouraged because it is then that God's power works best. That is an amazing paradox and truth. God's power works best in my weakness! That is so encouraging.
This is to me the definition of entering into God's rest. As I was weary I came to Him and He has been faithful to give me all that I need through His word, through His spirit and through other people. He has encouraged me and given me truth to strengthen me. Now I am equipped to face the day and its burdens. I have all that I need in Him. My soul feels as though it could soar because of the strength it receives from being close to the Lord Almighty's heart. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. This is a good way to discern what things are from Him and what is not.
He calls us to enter into His rest. It is a wonderful place to be. Apart from Him we have no life but in Him there is abundant life. It is ours and we can enjoy it as we come and enter into His rest.
posted by Kellie # 8:55 AM
