Last night I told Dave that I was tired and just wanted to sleep in this morning. I said I wasn’t sure that I would get up to write the blog. He laughed and said, “Honey, there has never been a morning that you haven’t gotten up early. You’ll write the blog.
Ok, so he was right and I was up earlier this morning than I have been in a while. I hoping to be like this little puppy later today and just lay down for a bit and rest.
One of the things I have learned from years of constantly being on the go is the Lord takes no delight in us being exhausted and weary. Burn out is not God’s plan! Let me encourage you to rest.
I found sound instruction in Psalm 23 this morning.
“The Lord is my shepherd. I will always have everything I need. 2 He gives me green pastures to lie in. He leads me by calm pools of water. 3 He restores my strength. He leads me on right paths to show that he is good.” Psalm 23:1-3 ERV
The Lord knows that we need rest. He didn’t design our bodies or our minds to be constantly on the go. We need to have our strength renewed and restored. He invites us to lie down and rest. He’s a gracious, loving Shepherd and He watches over us attentatively.
When we’re tired we lose focus, our concentration decreases and we can even weaken our health. However, when we wait, cease from labor, our strength with be restored.
“He helps tired people be strong. He gives power to those without it.
30 Young men get tired and need to rest. Even young boys stumble and fall.
31 But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again. They will be like eagles that grow new feathers. They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired.” Isaiah 40:29-31 ERV
The word trust in verse 31 can also be translated “wait”. Trusting the Lord is a form of waiting. Trusting means to expect, look for, hope in and rely on. There is waiting attached to each and every one of those words. When we are weary there is a place of rest that never disappoints.
“Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. 29 Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 NLV
God’s Word gives us instruction on how to live and keep things in proper order. It promises us rest. Jesus’ life was filled with constant activity. He walked from town to town, ministered to people daily, and resolved interpersonal conflicts. This is what He did when he needed to be strengthened and rest.
“Then Jesus made the followers get into the boat. He told them to go to the other side of the lake. He said he would come later. He stayed there to tell everyone they could go home. 23 After Jesus said goodbye to the people, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. It was late, and he was there alone.” Matthew 14:22-23 ERV
“ Very early the next morning, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray.” Mark 1:35 CEV
“But the news about Jesus spread more and more. Many people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 Jesus often went away to other places to be alone so that he could pray.” Luke 5:15-16 ERV
Jesus committed himself to prayer and there He found rest. He took time to be alone.
I enjoy doing those word search puzzles. So I am going to give you some letters and ask you to find the hidden word. You can only use each letter once. Here they are. T-S-E-S-R-S. What word did you find?
If you found the word STRESS, you can’t have rest. But if you chose the word REST you won’t have stress. Just saying!
Take a day and enjoy some time of rest.