Rest

Rest… In ME

(Originally posted here.)

Sometimes, life doesn’t afford us a place to rest. The clearest, sky-blue day can feel more like a cold, bitter night, simply because there is no place for the soul to find its rest.

Rest. And the days aren’t getting any better. Lately, and more often than not, I find myself saying to myself and others, “I just can’t keep up with what’s happening in the world today. You know, the frequency of the stuff that’s going on right now? Just can’t keep up anymore. It’s all too fast! ISIS, Ebola, news of earthquakes, wars…”

Rest. Seriously! Do you ever look up at the sky, once in a while, just to see what’s  there? Just to see who’s doing what, trying to figure out who’s trying to take control of this world, right now? Is anybody in control over this whole mess?

And you don’t have to look out across the rest of the world to see the brokenness. One day, I want to see the billions of stories of personal brokenness, that ought to be told, get told; just so their owners know that someone is listening, that they are not alone. But what about just a little moment of rest from it all?

“Life is not fair!”

Maybe it seems that way. Could anyone find rest for their soul… when the people you thought most loved you betray you and your body… when the government you thought would protect you does nothing to aid you in your darkest hour against those who would stand above you as your enemy… how are you meant to find rest in that? Will we ever find rest for our souls in this darkness we call home? Was this journey always meant to be this painful, hopeless, messed up? Can’t I just give up and end it all here? Or is hope, and faith, and love something still worth believing in? Is someone listening?

I’m glad you asked. Yes. Someone is listening. Someone is going to tell your story. Isn’t that the beginning of true justice? Someone is going to give you rest. It seems easier to talk about rest than it is to talk about love, I think because love is such an abstract concept for most of us to try to grasp and understand.

“How would you know the beauty of life, without knowing the utter darkness that is possible in this life?”

Someone does love you, is listening to you and is now standing at the feet of your door, offering you a rest that is as timeless as the first light to stretch its path across the universe; as ancient as the first wind that ever stirred and caressed its way over the blades of grasses on the surface of the earth.

That rest is here. It is life. It is eternal. That rest can be part of your story and the relief in your relentless personal journey. I believe it is one of two end points of all that is broken and dark in this world. But will it be your final resting place? Yes, only if you take that rest from the one who offers it. The only sacrifice is that you leave your pride and ego at the door, and that you take it simply in all humility and thankfulness, and only in faith in the one who began a good work in you from the foundations of the universe. He knew your story then, he knows your story now. Will you take this rest from the one who loved you and gave his life to save you, so that you could have this everlasting peace and rest in your soul?

Rest. Don’t try so hard to work your way to a better place. You can’t earn it. Don’t try. Simply rest in Him.

Matthew 11:28-30
“Come unto me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Rest.

Favourite Verses

What are some of your favorite verses? Here are twelve of mine.

Please share your favourite verses below.

Matthew 6:33
33 But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 7:7
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

Luke 9:23
23 And he said to them all, “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Ephesians 2:8,9
8 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Galatians 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Proverbs 3:5,6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Revelations 3:20
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any person hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with me.

John 3:30
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

Acts 16:31
31 And they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your household.”

Isaiah 40:31
31 But they who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.