Monday, May 4, 2015

Let the Weary Rest



If I asked you, “Do you need rest?” I’m pretty sure you’d say “You know it sister!” I’m sure we would all respond in the affirmative wouldn’t we?

But if I probed a little deeper and asked, “Do you need rest in your spirit? Are you soul weary? Do you yearn for peace in your mind and spirit? Rest from temptations that torment? Rest from carrying that heavy burden you been lugging around?” 

No doubt some of you would probably look up at me and say, “Deb, I’ve been struggling, and yearn for rest and peace. I haven’t known rest for a long time.” 

I get that. I’ve been there. Lately it seems as though the “cares of life” have amped up a notch. I need that rest very badly.

It seems as though we can’t escape it sometimes. Life is full of distractions and cares that pull at us and suck the life out of us. If we let it, it can batter us into submission. Kind of like being in the ring with a relentless boxer. 

I had the privilege of seeing Muhammad Ali in person. He used to live not all that far from us and he regularly visited a local mall with his family. 

We happened to be there when he walked by with his family. I was struck at how large he was. He was one big dude! 

His jabs were lightening quick. During a boxing match, he’d quickly snap that jab in the opponent’s face. It didn’t look like much on TV, but it packed a punch!  He would jab the opponent repeatedly and when the opponent was softened enough, he would throw a heavy hook and pow! Down he would go. 

That’s exactly what the cares of life do to us. They jab and nip at us over and over. It’s a slow damage. Like being in a ring with Ali everyday. If we allow ourselves to succumb to these jabs, it’s not long before we are weakened and battered.

This is how I’ve been feeling lately. Kind of battered and weary. Have you been struggling too? 

Is there a place we can go to for rest? Do we have to get pulled daily into the ring of cares? Will the cares and hassles of our lives ever cease to be? 

I smile as I write this and think, “I wish it could all go away!” But as you know, it doesn’t go away. One worry may resolve itself today, but another one will pop up later in the week. There will always be the toils and cares. 

I read somewhere that “rest doesn’t mean freedom from all nuisances and hassles; it means freedom from being so easily bothered by them.” i.e....freedom in the face of whatever would disturb your rest. 

So I guess there will always be the toils and cares with the lightening quick jabs. But I don’t have to get in the ring. I have a place of rest to go for peace, strength and grace.   

"This is the resting place, let the weary rest; and this is the place of repose" Isaiah 28:12

Moses found his rest in the tent of meeting. It was his place to meet with God when he needed wisdom, comfort and assurance. And as you know, he needed it a lot! I’m sure he visited that tent many times for a face to face with the Lord. 

It was in this tent of meeting, that the Lord told Moses, “My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.” 

I so love this! Did you catch the great truth in this? My God is the Rest Giver. In His presence is Rest. 

Daily I can enter into my “tent of meeting” to lay down my burdens, pour out my heart to Him, lay my head on His chest, hear His voice encouraging me. It’s a daily entering, sometimes a moment-by-moment entering. 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” Jesus tells me. I know I am soul weary and burdened. Are you? Let’s go into our tent of meeting and have a face to face with our Jesus. He waits for me to come. "This is the resting place, let the weary rest; and this is the place of repose" 

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