I have a problem.
I let the everyday details of life consume me. I guess I've always been this way, but I didn't see it as a problem until a few years ago. I hate it. This tendency has turned my living into a daily trudging through the obligations I am required to fulfill (or think I'm required to fulfill), which leaves little room for joy. I have had a wonderful Thanksgiving break, and one of the best things I've gotten out of it is that it has shown me how flawed I am in my way of life. Why feel peace, joy, and contentment only when I'm off work? I know God desires more for me.
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10b).
So now what do I do? Sure, I'll start my morning tomorrow trying to be cheerful---I may even make it an hour---but then some work-related email will knock me off my emotional feet and my forehead will furrow, my shoulders will tense up, and my spirit will sag. The apostle Paul put it best:
"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do" (Romans 7:15).
One thing is to remind myself that God loves me and is patient with me. He wants me to enjoy the life He's given me.
"He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all---how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).
I also need to arm myself with Scriptures that are specific to my struggles.
"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matthew 6:34).
Lastly, I must remember that every moment is a clean slate.
"[His compassions] are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:23).
"And the God of all grace...will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast" (1 Peter 5:10).
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).
Stand firm, friends. And please pray for me. I'll be praying for you.
I don't know about you, but I don't rest very well. As a child of God, I'm really trying to learn how. Being anxious, in the end, is the equivalent of not trusting Him. And it's just ridiculously exhausting. And it steals the joy out of my life, which is the whole reason why I began this blog. So today I'm posting some verses that remind me to rest because God wants me to.
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work" (Genesis 2:2).
"The Lord replied, 'My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest'" (Exodus 33:14).
"'Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest'" (Exodus 34:21).
"I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure..." (Psalm 16:7-9).
"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken" (Psalm 62:5-6)
"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you" (Psalm 116:7).
"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it'" (Isaiah 30:15).
"'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light'" (Matthew 11:28-30).
"This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything" (1 John 3:19-20).
"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).
Saying this past week was difficult would be a ridiculously huge understatement. From the discouragement of being a teacher to the challenges of being a wife and mother (not to mention the agony of an on-again-off-again sore throat), every facet of my life was painful, frustrating, and just plain hard.
As long as we live on this earth, this fallen world, it will be hard.
But God loves me. And He loves you. And He is good.
"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life" (Psalm 119:50).
"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" (Psalm 3:8).
"Then Job replied to the LORD: 'I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted'" (Job 42:1-2).
"The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek You" (Psalm 9:9-10).
"For the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands" (Psalm 19:1).
"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters" (Psalm 18:16).
"...[M]y God turns my darkness into light. With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.... For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?" (Psalm 18:28b-29, 31).
There are more and more passages to quote, but I must stop here. I pray these words have strengthened and comforted you.
