Rest In Me

Sleep is something I’m not very good at.  I don’t think I’ve had a really good night’s sleep in 20 years - since I was pregnant with my 19-year old son.  It’s not that I can’t get to sleep, it’s that I can’t stay asleep.  Like most moms, I’m awakened by the slightest noise, worried that something might be wrong.  Over the years, my body has become accustomed to waking up after a few hours.  And no thanks to technology, I’ve found ways to occupy these early morning hours - staring at a screen.   Ugh!

So many studies point to sleep as a key to good health.  I know it’s important and each night I tell myself, “Tonight’s going to be different.”  But there’s the problem, I tell MYSELF.  I try to find serenity within and that’s the last place I’m going to find it.

I’m no stranger to the idea that I need to cease relying on my own effort and lean on God.  I know I can’t do this on my own.  Time and experience have taught me I’m a horrible self-regulator.  See, there it is again – SELF.  If only I could rest in the notion that the Holy Spirit will work it out on my behalf.

It seems there’s a simple answer to the question, “How can trusting God help me sleep?”  Faith = Sleep and Sleep = Faith.  This Lenten season I plan to trade old habits for new ones.  (And no, I don’t mean giving up sweets for more vegetables, though I should.) This is what I plan to do:

1.  Go to bed at a reasonable hour.

2.  Don’t scroll through my phone.

3.  When I wake in the middle of the night, repeat today’s verse… “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

And maybe, just maybe, if I repeat “But take heart!” enough times, it’ll send me right back to sleep.  A sleep that will restore not only my mind and body, but my spirit as well.

Wouldn’t it be great to wake up refreshed in the knowledge that He is the Prince of Peace and the day will be better because of my relationship with Him?! 

 

Come to Me

Read Matthew 11:28-30

Who needs a nap today? The day after Christmas. The work of making Christmas “happen” is over for many. And it may be the perfect day to breathe and to rest. Whether you have minutes or hours today to surrender, let this rejoicing in the Christ child’s birthday sink down deeper than the surface celebrations. Look past the presents and the food. The shiny new whatever. Christmas, thank goodness, is so much more than any of that. God has come to us. The wait has ended. The silence ceased. Could our hearts bear it a minute longer? The whole world took a collective breath of hope at this Baby’s first cries on planet earth. Jesus whispers to you today, "Stop your striving, dear ones, even the Christmas merriment striving."

Let’s rejoice, by resting. Rest in love. Rest in forgiveness. Let’s rest in knowing that Jesus is calling each of us back to Himself and to each other. He’s come to set us free. Jesus says, "Come. Come to me and I will give you rest. Throw all those burdens you are carrying on me." So yeah, maybe a nap is just what you need today.

QUESTIONS:

1. How is Jesus calling you to come to Himself today?

2. What would resting in Jesus look like in your life today?

PRAYER:

Jesus, thank You for coming to us. You are forever moving towards us in gentleness and love. Help me to rest in You today. Amen.

Andrea Taphorn

Jesus gives rest to the weary

December 31

Scripture Reading

Read Matthew 11:25-30 and reflect on the passage.

If I were crafting a comforting Bible verse about rest, the work of an ox would not be my chosen metaphor. I’m guessing beasts of burden aren’t your picture of rest either. So why is it that Jesus evokes this hard-pressed, driving metaphor when offering us comfort for our weariness?

I propose to you two reasons. First, we are meant for something. Rest for us, is not about inactivity, but about the right activity—faithful activity. Rest for the Christian is about obedience to God’s call in any moment. We may be called to stop at some times, and to go at another. Sometimes obedience will feel easy and sometimes it will be hard. But always it is what is best for us and will lead us toward a source of love and of life that will carry our weariness from us.

Second, a yoke is not taken by just one animal. We are not just taking on Jesus’ yoke, but we are yoked with Him—beside Him. Even when the work ahead seems insurmountable, we are more than conquerors because Christ pulls beside us, and He pulls in our place. We are yoked with Christ and in that there is infinite rest.

Questions

1.      What has you weary right now? Is it something God has called you to, or something else?

2.      What have you been trying to do that Christ can be doing for you? What would it take to convince you that the work you are doing doesn’t really rest on your shoulders?

  

Prayer

Jesus, I want to be yoked to You. Help me to be obedient and to remember that You do the heavy lifting. Amen.

—Aaron Thompson

A Little R and R Anyone?

Acts 19:21-22

New International Version (NIV)

After all this had happened, Paul decided[a] to go to Jerusalem,passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.

We have only two verses to address this morning, so there must be a deep meaning here.  Reading the words over a few times, I am struck by two thoughts.  First, we seem to be stepping out of one dynamic and into another. The opening line, "After all this had happened..." indicates lots of activity.  Reviewing the first 20 verses of chapter 19 reveals the 'all'.

First Paul encounters about 12 men and learning they had not been baptized of the Holy Spirit, he baptized them. His next stop had Paul preaching in a meeting place where opposition arose and Paul. Paul then moved to a new location and continued to spread the Good News of Jesus all over Asia; to Jews and Greeks alike. This kept him busy for two years.

Paul finds himself in the midst of controversy and danger as he faced sorcery and exorcists and evil spirits, all in a day's work for this faithful follower. This brings up my second thought. When learning about Jesus' ministry we often read about how he would get away to pray.  Jesus sought solitude so that he could recharge his spirit and reconnect with his Father.

Paul must have done likewise, we just don't read about it. The two verses today cover more than a two year time span. I have to assume Paul had a daily down time.  Do you?  Do you have a time set aside to regroup and begin or end your day in communion with The Father?

The only way Paul could have accomplished all he did is if he was being fed.  We need the same nourishment if we are to continue Paul's work here and now.

Acts 19:21-22

Prayer is Laughing - Because you are in His Arms

Psalm 55:22-23 (NIV)
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. ...But as for me, I trust in you.

All three Psalms for today tell of trusting God and of taking refuge in Him. How do we cast our cares on the LORD?  Do we have any responsibility to make things better?  Do these words mean God will get us out of every scrape we get ourselves into?  The verse says that he will sustain us. The dictionary defines sustain as: To keep in existence; maintain; To supply with necessities or nourishment; provide for.

Did you notice that sustain doesn't mean to make it all better?  So what do we do with this information?  Life is a journey and along the way we learn from our mistakes.  God will protect and provide but He will not rescue when we need to learn a lesson.  God will work on our hearts, and our heads - instilling common sense when needed.

Psalm 56:11 (NIV) 
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?  There will come a time when each of us needs to just simply trust.  There is nothing we can do, only God can help and it is at that time we just fall back and rest in His arms.

Psalm 57:1-2 (NIV)
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills [his purpose] for me. This has always been such a beautiful image for me. A trouble person, beat up by the world, lost and feeling alone...finding safety and shelter in the shadow of God's wings.

This shelter or refuge will look different to each of us.  What do you look for in a refuge?  What gives you comfort and peace? Come, duck under His wings and feel the cool shade surround you.  Breathe in His healing love and bask in the moment.

Psalms 55, 56, 57