rest

Jesus is rest.

And oh, how I need it sometimes.

Rest from thoughts that never slow down.

Rest in my body.

Rest for my soul, so thirsty.

Every invitation has a destination.

I know I’ve been saying that a lot, but it’s true and Jesus offers an amazing invitation. One I don’t think we take seriously, one I don’t always remember.

matthew 11-28

Sure, we need to slow it down and find Sabbath rest. Otherwise we get burned up, short-fused, and out of balance. That’s no good for anyone, but especially for those who get a big dose of us every day.

But today I’m not talking about that kind of rest.

I’m talking about resting in Jesus.

It’s a Sabbath for our faith

We stop working so stinking hard to please God or people and we just start walking with him. We fall in love with him all over again.

We feel the release to be honest with him.

We run to him when we mess up, and we sit with him just to let him know that we can’t imagine being anywhere else.

It’s uncomplicated faith that offers rest rather than striving.

It’s a Sabbath for our soul

One of the saddest things I see is people who are believers, but who have lost their joy. This isn’t a condemnation, but an observation. There have been times that the person I’m talking about is me.

We can find rest for our soul.

Deep, abiding rest that allows us to take a deep breath and to not take ourselves so seriously, and to laugh again.

Resting in Jesus isn’t taking us away from pain or sadness or busyness or chaos.

There’s lots of things that can do that, and certainly our relationship with Lord is the best, but it’s taking us toward something.

It’s taking us toward peace.

It’s leading us to renewed joy.

It’s stripping away the complexities to discover relationship with Jesus.

Oh, Suzie, you make it seem so simple.

Right?

That’s because it really is. We’ve made faith so incredibly tiring. I watch the disciples and their faith consists of walking and talking with Jesus.

They had people issues. They had personality problems. They messed up. They were part of incredible miracles.

But the heart of what they did, and who they became, wrapped around sitting at the feet of Jesus and just listening to him.

Those words were sufficient when they hit a brick wall. They eased their hearts as they mourned. They came at the appropriate time when they had no words of their own.

That’s my desire, too.

Lord, today I choose to rest in you. I refuse to strive in my faith, but will grow as I rest in your words and in truth. Resting isn’t retiring from your purpose for me, but fully embracing your timing, your anointing, and my walk with you, wherever you are leading. ~ Amen

Suzie