A Visual

Isaiah 32 – the last part of the chapter – what an awesome visual.

Let me describe it to you like this:

We all live in a valley, beneath this large mountain, and we look up – His Spirit is pouring down the mountain causing our dry ground to be fertile for planting.  His justice runs rampant in our streets, and his righteousness rules. 

All of a sudden, fruit trees start coming up from the ground and the fruit that is hanging is not oranges and apples – but rather peace pears.  As these peaceful pears drop to the ground, the whole countryside lives in quiet, confidence, and peaceful dwellings.  Every home is secure and undisturbed, and all who reside inside are at rest.

And even though there will be hail that comes and flattens forest and destroys cities, where the Spirit is pouring down, there will be fruitfulness and freedom.

Where the Spirit of the Lord dwells – there is freedom – freedom from turmoil – freedom to rest.

Joyful Song

Isaiah 14 talks of a land being at rest and at peace, and then says “they break into singing.”

One of the sure indicators of a heart at rest is a heart that sings.  In fact, a rested heart “breaks into” singing. That means the rest and peace is so strong and secure, and has such a strong hold on the heart, the heart cannot help but respond and burst forth in song.

Remember the feeling of being loved – by your husband – a new pet – a comforting parent when you’ve fallen and skinned your knee?  It’s the security and assurance that you are accepted, someone loves you, and it’s all going to be okay now because they are near.  And once you receive that love, you heart starts pumping and a smile emerges on your face and you hop up!  You’re ready to live again!

I am reminded of the scene when Tom Cruise jumped on Oprah’s sofa, expressing his love for Katie Holmes.  He thought he had found the love of his life and he broke into joyful expression right on national television!  We all know now how that love story turned out, and it’s because it wasn’t at rest and peace.  There was turmoil in the home, and the song of joy turned into mourning.

If you’ve lost your song, come back to the shelter of the Most High and sit under his shadow.  And when the song starts rising…sing it loud! 

Untouched

Proverbs 19 says this, “The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.”

You want to know how to rest contently? Fear the Lord.  This type of fear is not the kind where we hide in a closet when He is near, because we’re afraid He’s going to hurt us.  This kind of fear is the reverent holy awe of the awesome God of the universe who sent his only Son to die for us – and we stand in amazement, with trembling lips as we offer praise to this amazing King who loves us so. 

When we have that kind of reverent, holy, fear…then we rest content.

Not only that, but the end of the verse says we are untouched by trouble.  Trouble might surround us, it might surface in the morning and stare at us until night…but we don’t have to be touched by it.

Have you ever been through a difficult time in life and you came out of the dark tunnel, but now you’re afraid of everything that reminds you of the time you were in the darkness?  That’s what it’s like to be touched by trouble.  You’re forever afraid.

We don’t have to live like that.  When we stand in awe of God, we learn to rest content, then the darkness of trouble is just a tunnel – where we might scream and hear our voice echo against the closed in walls – but when we surface to the light again all fear is gone.  And we finish the ride untouched by the darkness, drawn toward the light.

Return

Psalm 116 says “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”

To me, this implies that when we are fearful, anxious, and in turmoil we have forgotten for a moment the goodness of God in our lives.

Our souls are prone to wander, just like an hold hymn states (Prone to wander, Lord I feel it…Prone to leave the God I love).  We start looking at circumstances, the possibilities of the danger that might happen, the present needs that stand in our face like a steel wall, and we forget the goodness of God that woke us up this morning and sustains our heartbeat even now, as we spend time with Him.

When I wake up in the morning fretting (as I did today) I have to remind myself of God’s goodness, and sometimes He reminds me.  He’s so good like that.  Today I was fretting about a job for my son, and God reminded me of how he miraculously provided a job for my husband decades ago.  This boosted my faith and brought me back to a place of rest.

Rest isn’t the absence of need.  Oh, how I often wish that were the case.  Rest is acknowledging that the Lord is good, reminding yourself of specific ways that He’s been good. And somehow when we do that – it’s like pulling up a rock climber when he’s slipped and fallen.  It allows us to once again place our feet on a ledge, our hands on the Rock, and climb a little higher next time.

Return to your rest.

The Shelter & The Shadow

Psalm 91 – a favorite chapter of many.

The first verse states, “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…”

So where is the shelter of the Most High and how do we live there?  It’s a place of relationship with Him.  His shelter is His great love and all we have to do is believe in Him, repent of our sins, and automatically we are there.  Notice the verse says “dwells” which implies that we must stay there and not wander off.  Can we wander off from God’s love?  No way. It’s always there.  But we can make choices to leave and close the door, submitting ourselves to whatever lies “out there.” His love remains.  But we have to choose to live there.

There’s rest in his “shadow?” What in the world does that mean? Life is hard, like a hot sunny day where if we stay out too long, we get heat exhaustion and almost faint.  But if we can just find a shady spot where the cool breezes blow, we know we’ll be okay.  God’s like that.  He’s our shady spot, the shadow under which we can rest and be restored.

Finally, this psalm begins with the word and the call to “whoever.”  Remember John 3:16?  God so loved us…that whoever believes…shall have eternal life.  God offers this shelter of love and shadow of restoration to anyone who would like to come out of the heat…into the shade…where the cool breezes blow…where rest is found.

Show and Tell

Psalm 90:16 says “May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children,” and then it says, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us…”

When is the last time you sat with your children and told them of the wonderful things God has done for you in your life?  Or the greatness of God that you’ve witnessed? 

When we recall the mighty deeds of God in our lives we are doing two things (vs 17):

Hearing of God’s goodness causes God’s favor to “rest” on us – and this brings peace to our home

Hearing of God’s goodness establishes the work of our hands for us – and this brings peace our home

Just the fact that you’re able to sit on your computer and read this devo today gives you at least two things to give thanks for: your laptop (great provision) and your eyesight (what a blessing).  

We have many things to talk about and share relating to God’s goodness in our lives. 

His deeds and His splendor recounted allows His rest to light upon us and establish us forever.

Say it Again

I think David (in the Psalms) was one of the most distressed writers of the Bible, yet he was also the best model of knowing what to do in times of stress – rest in God.

How was he able to rest? He realized several things as evidenced in chapter 62:

“my salvation comes from Him” – no one else but God

“truly he is my rock…” – he won’t move or go away

“…and my salvation” – no one else but God

“he is my fortress”  - he protects me from harm

“I will never be shaken” – nothing can separate me from his great love

“yes, my soul, find rest in God”  - he speaks to his soul to rest

And then he repeats the above phrases again.

Sometimes we know God is all of these things, but sometimes it’s necessary for us to repeat the truth to ourselves again…and then rest comes.   The first time we hear the words, and the second time we believe them.