Rest

“There is a rest for the people of God.”

I’ve spent seasons of my life working feverishly towards goals…establishing ministries, building businesses, acquiring educational degrees. Yet this season is different. Why? Is it because I’m wiser? I hope so, but I think it’s more than wisdom attained. With each passing year, the message of Psalm 127 becomes more meaningful to me:

1 Unless the LORD builds the house, 
They labor in vain who build it; 
Unless the LORD guards the city, 
The watchman keeps awake in vain. 
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, 
To retire late, 
To eat the bread of painful labors; 
For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep Read the entire Psalm

Sure I work hard—Dad wove a strong work ethic into the fiber of my being.

Sure I set and progress towards goals—years spent in the field of education solidified these necessary skill sets.

Yet as I age, seeds of trust in my soul burst their confines and grow like tender shoots. And somewhere between heaven and earth they intertwine with the miraculous:

“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” –James 1:17

In fact, experience has taught me that if what I want doesn’t happen, then I can rest in the assurance that it wasn’t the best God had for me.

Yes, there is a rest for the people of God. We can embrace the finished work of Christ. We can receive all that is intended for us as a gift from our Heavenly Father whose love only knows the boundaries of wisdom.