Finding Rest in God

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”        Jesus in Matthew 11:28  NIV

    Good rest refreshes us and reenergizes us.  In his book, Every Good Endeavor, Timothy Keller states,

       "Resting, or practicing Sabbath, is also a way to help us get perspective on our work and put it in its proper place. Often we can't see our work properly until we get some distance from it  and reimmerse ourselves in other activities.  Then we see that there is more to life than work.  With that perspective and rested bodies and minds, we return to do more and better work."

  Often We often make attempts at resting that are not at all refreshing or reenergizing.  The key to understanding this is the first three of Jesus’ words above, “Come to me”.   We discover the best rest when we come to Jesus.  Instead of plugging into TV or other electronic entertainment to escape from stress or feverishly pursuing a hobby that takes more energy from us, we can go to Jesus.

  Sometimes this may take the form of sitting or going for a walk by ourselves while we quietly acknowledge Jesus’ presence and  his sufficiency to refresh us.  Sometimes it may be a time of quietly meditating on Scripture or listening to Christian music.  Sometimes it may take the form of being with a group of friends with whom we can unload our burdens during a meal or through a time of encouragement and prayer with them.

    Whatever the case, if we want to find satisfying rest, we need to believe that Jesus is the best place to find it.  Hebrews 4:19 teaches us that it was a lack of trust that kept the people of Israel from finding the rest that God wanted to give them.  This week, set aside some time to come to Jesus for some refreshing and  reenergizing rest  by pursuing one of the pathways with him that is mentioned above.  If you need some Scripture for meditation, consider Psalm  23, Psalm 46 or  Psalm 36:5-9.

A Simple Gratitude Exercise

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.    Psalm 100:4  NIV

    Writing out God’s Word helps us store it up in our heart so that it filters into our everyday life.  Writing out our praise, thanks and requests is good for our mind and  our soul. This week’s SPA is designed for Thanksgiving Day, but you can do it anytime. 

     

Take an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper and fold it in half and in half again, so that it has four  sections, one in each corner.

1. In the top left section, write out Psalm 100. (It’s only five verses)

2. In the top right section, write down some sentences of praise to God. For example, “You are patient.”

3. In the bottom left section, write “God thank you for…” and then fill the box with people, things and circumstances for which you are  thankful.

4. In the bottom right section, Write out some requests you have for God.  They can be for you or for someone else.  As you write, completely give them to God and trust him to take care of them.

Save your paper and read it again sometime in the next few weeks.

Clarity for Life through Encounters with God

When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me 17 till I entered the sanctuary of God.  Psalm 73:16-17 NIV

  
It’s easy to lose perspective in life.  One person lets us down and we start wondering if we can trust anyone.  We fail when we try something new and  then we are hesitant to try something new again.  A few things go wrong and we start expecting other things to go wrong.

What’s going on in your life right now?  Are you struggling with a negative attitude?  Do your problems feel overwhelming?  Do you feel like God is letting you down?  It could be that what you need most of all is a fresh perspective of the goodness, wisdom and power of God.   This week, enter into the sanctuary of God with the following simple activity.

     
     1.  Arrange to be alone in a quiet place for 20 minutes.

     2.  Slowly read Philippians 4:6-7 and Psalm 46:10-11.

     3.  Spend a few minutes telling God about what’s weighing you down.

     4.  Ask God to encourage you and spend the rest of the 20 minutes sitting silently in

          God’s presence.  Quietly praise God for being good, wise and strong. 

Posting again...

After quite a break, I am back to posting my weekly SPAs.  Through a moment of clarity with God, I have rediscovered that helping people to discover God's goodness and to live in his goodness is one of the main passions of my life.  My prayer is that each of these posts provides simple and practical help for people who want to "walk humbly with their God."  (Micah 6:8)