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When I was a small child growing up in the rolling hills of southwestern Ohio, there was a special “hideout” I would go to every day. Running back into the field behind our house, I would spot the big tree in the distance, and head straight towards it. Scooting under the shaggy willow tree, I would lie back against it’s trunk and get comfortable in the surrounding tall grass.
Not two feet away from my hidden domain was a bubbling brook, winding it’s way through the meadow. I would spend hours lying there, watching the tadpoles in the water, or holding my breath when small animals would come to the water’s edge to get a cool drink. I remember watching the clouds roll by, and soaking up the sun. No one ever came there. I never took anyone there. It was my place. A place of rest.
From the beginning of His children’s exodus into freedom, God has promised us rest. Rest in His presence, rest in His salvation. Even Solomon praised God for the time in his life when “the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster” at hand. (I Kings 5:4)
Rest is a commodity for the blessed, a reward from the Father in whom our soul can find the only true rest.
In today’s society, rest seems like an interruption of our “real” life. Some of us force ourselves to go to bed and get sleep. Some of us fight rest as much as we resist God. We fight to stay awake, we fight to stay up. We seem constantly pushed to go, go, go. It is important that we stop, take a look at our reasons for the unrest. Are we struggling with rest, so that we can do things that will give us a beautiful home? Do we want to spend our valuable time doing things to get more money to live comfortably?
In Isaiah 32:18, God spoke into His children’s lives: “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” Do you find that you struggling for more time for more things? If so, then surrender some of your heart’s desires to the One who would treat your soul with the loving kindness of His restful peace. Slow down, relax, spend some time in prayer and meditation with your Father in heaven, and let the Lord bless you with a respite from the things of this world. Let Him shower you with the peace of His dwelling place. Let your soul find rest in God alone.
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