Rest

 

This is a concept that I have always had a
hard time with. Resting. It should be something that is fairly easy, but rather
it is one of the most difficult lessons of my life. I love steps 1, 2, and 3; I
love seeing the beginning and end; and my limited human knowledge just cannot
fathom how resting will create results.

 

But this is what God wants for me. He wants
me to rest in Him. He wants me to stop doing and start living. God designed us
for intimacy with Him and if we are constantly doing and going and looking for
the next issue to conquer we will never have that intimacy. “We long for
intimacy because we are made in the image of perfect intimacy” (the Trinity)
(The Sacred Romance, 73).

 

“I belong to my lover and [H]is desire is
for me.” – Song of Songs 7:10

 

This week was tough for me. I got really
sick and have been recuperating for two days. I have known for a while now that
God wants me to begin resting and allowing Him to move in my life, rather than
me trying to foster more of Him in my life. But since I didn’t know what that
looked like, I just kept it on the backburner. Then, in bed for two days, it
became clear that it was time to listen to His prompting.

 

Since I have been working the ‘what do I
need to do’ angle to attempt to grow in my relationship with God for the past
25 years, it is going to take time to learn what rest really looks like. Today,
for starters, I went with the literal. I just laid in bed, attempted to silence
my mind, and asked God to speak to me. Just 30 minutes of silence was dreadful.
Shouldn’t I be talking or reading or anything? No. Just be with Me. There is no
next step, nothing to be done, just simply rest. I have no idea what that looks
like, but I am asking God to move and trusting that He will show me in time.

 

“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