A final post on Rest...
Rest. It’s more than physical. It’s more than emotional.
It’s
goes, deeper. It’s a position of the
heart.
It’s
spiritual.
Psalm
91:1-2 says this:
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the
shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in
whom I trust.”
All throughout the psalms
and throughout scriptures there is reference to God being our rest, our fortress
and the one we find safety and comfort in.
So I wonder…Can we even know true rest without knowing God the Father?
One of the biggest
profits in America is the market is comfort. We continually buy whatever products and
devices allow more "rest" in our lives. (And make no mistake, I am the first to fall in line for this :)
I
have visited other countries and even lived in two different countries and the
go-go-go mentality doesn’t seem to manifest anywhere like I have experienced in
America.
If
you are not achieving, performing, making something of yourself, than what are
doing?
What
do you have to show for yourself?
This
isn’t to say there’s not a place for working hard and pushing yourself to the
limit for this is another great quality of Americans, but I think often we
don’t understand the power of working from rest rather than resting from
burnout.
We
have gadgets, devices, and treatments to de-stress us and allow us to rest, but
I think we have forgot who first designed
rest.
In
Genesis 2:2-4 in The Message translation it says…
By the seventh day God
had finished his work. On the seventh
day he rested from all his work. God
blessed the seventh day. He made it a Holy
Day because on that day he rested from his work, all the creating God had done.
It was God who purposed us for a day
of rest.
It was Him who said rest is
not only good but needed for us to function in a healthy way.
No wonder we are so
overweight, overworked, overstressed, and over, over, over it half the time.
Rest is a part of our
DNA. It’s how God has made us to
function.
To live from a place of rest
and retreat and from that we work.
Later in Isaiah it says God
never tires or slumbers or sleeps. I
believe God didn’t need rest on the 7th day but He was giving us a
picture of how we are to live.
God created us. He knows what we need.
He knows rest is for our
good, for our best.
Rest
is positional.
A
position of the heart.
Ultimately,
a position of coming under His dwelling, His security and His comfort.
The
reality is gadgets, devices, books, or other forms of “rest” can’t provide you
with truly deep peace, joy, contentment that allows your heart to rest.
If
you aren’t dealing with the emotions and tension in your heart, then true rest
is non-existent.
It's under
His dwelling, He meets you.
He
meets your questions. Your pain. Your
joy. Your desires. Your hurt.
Your dreams.
That
doesn’t necessarily mean all the answers will be solved, but He, being the
source of life, meets you there and allows clarity and comfort into every
emotion.
You
can bandied all day long the physical and emotional symptoms of an unrestful
heart, but without Him coming in and breaking through to the emotions shifting
around in your heart, then true rest will never settle your heart.
What’s the position
of your heart today?
