Place of Rest

I honestly didn't know if I was going to get a blog post written this week. Between working every day and then coming down with a nasty sinus infection, writing didn't look like something that was likely to happen. But in God's grace, He gave me a day at home today to rest. In between resting and taking my medications, I have been blessed to spend my day doing my favorite things - listening to good Christian music, reading, writing, and preparing for an upcoming speaking engagement that God has graciously provided for me.

Today God has also reminded me of something very important - not only physical rest (which I most definitely needed) but the importance of resting in the Lord. When circumstances steal your peace and joy, and make you doubt God's wisdom and goodness to you, the only thing to do is to go back to what you know to be true: the character of God. And the only way to know the character of God is to spend time with Him.

I know I've written about this before. But time and time again, I am convinced that it is THE most important thing in life. I am not talking about reading a quick devotional or a "verse of the day." Those things are good, and certainly better than nothing. I understand there are seasons and situations of life that make extended quality time with God really difficult to come by - I've been there, and I have been going through that myself lately. But if it wasn't for my time with the Lord, I would start to unravel.

Jesus knew the truth of this. In Mark chapter 1, we get a glimpse into His life. He spent His days ministering to others and constantly confronting sin and evil - sound familiar? He was busy to the point where "the whole town was gathered at His door" (vs: 33) But He knew that time alone with His Father was not an option. We are told in verses 35-38 that He made the choice to prepare for the demands of a new day by getting alone with His Father.

It is in the time we take alone with the Lord that we are renewed and refreshed. It is where we are reminded of a particular truth about God, or He points something out to us that we need to know. It has been my experience that throughout the day, Scripture verses meet up with real life. I can be in an unwanted and unexpected situation, and suddenly a verse will pop into my mind. Certain verses carry special memories with them every time I look at them - I can never read or hear Phil. 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" without remembering quoting that over and over when I was put in a cast on our missions trip to Cambodia and had to navigate three flights of stairs on crutches multiple times a day. Just this week I was required to do something that was not what I expected and seemed to be totally unfair, and I was reminded of Psalm 16:5 - "The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup, you hold my lot." and 31:15 - "My times are in Thy hand." I am also comforted that as a child of God, He still has a plan for me. Over and over I have meditated on "For I know the plans I have for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give you an expected end." (Jer. 29:11)

Are you getting the picture? How do I know all these verses? It's certainly not because I am a super-Christian. It's not because I am a pastor's wife. It's the result of walking with God, by His grace, for over 50 years and years of reading and memorizing His Word. I wish I had begun doing this much earlier. It wasn't until I was in my 30's and under the mentorship of a wonderful pastor's wife that I really got a hold on this concept. It's getting the Word into me, not just me in the Word. I am also thankful for a pastor-husband that led his congregation in memorizing Scripture. To this day I can still quote most of Romans chapter 8!

As the song I love by Andy Gleiser says, "Forever Rest in My Faithful love." In all that life brings, that is the TRUE place of rest.