rest

As I’m sure most of you know by now, I’m back home in the US of A!  After four months of trying to get visa issues resolved, Angie and I came to a decision point that led us home.  We will be here for a couple of months resolving the visa issues as well as resting and catching up with friends and family.

Rest is an interesting concept to me.  I am great at the lounging around on the couch, watching a movie, chatting with friends, sleeping a lot kind of rest.  In fact, I’m so good at it, you might at times mistake me for lazy.  Trust me though, I'm not lazy, just RESTING.  That’s what I’m choosing to believe anyway.

Yesterday, I was having a heck of a day resting.  I had gone running in the morning and wore myself completely since I am embarrassingly out of shape (thanks a lot Africa!).  Since I was too pooped to do anything else that afternoon, I didn’t.  I literally laid on the couch, watched a little HGTV (while dreaming of my own home I might own one of these days), did a few things on the computer, and hung out with my brother.  I would say a pretty productive day as far as resting goes.  But I started thinking while I was letting the dogs out to relieve themselves: 

What kind of rest am I actually in need of?

Yes, of course I need physical rest.  Everyone does after a time change jump of 7 hours and a 39-hour travel day.  But would physical rest really renew me completely?  Would it give my spirit the refreshing that it needed as well as my body?

I know physical rest especially when burnt out or extremely exhausted/jetlagged can do a world of good for your attitude and spirit.  But my spirit was in need of a little more than that.  I realized that I didn’t need just physical rest but spiritual rest as well.  When Angie and I were in Mozambique, praying over our visa situation, God specifically spoke to me over and over again with the words “Rest in Me”.  I didn’t exactly know what that meant at the time.  I just thought it meant that no matter what happened, we didn’t need to freak out but just let God handle it.  After I got home though, the words “Rest in Me” kept resonating in my spirit.

 As I sat on that deck thinking about the kind of rest I needed, I realized I sucked at spiritual rest.  I have always struggled, like many of us do in this technology age, with just sitting and enjoying completely quiet alone time with the Lord.  Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy my quiet times with the Lord.  But I often find my quiet times filled with things like worship music or feverishly scribbling down my thoughts or doodles.  There’s nothing wrong with worship music or journaling especially when hanging out with God, but I rarely just sit in silence in the presence of the Lord.  When things are silent, my mind can’t seem to concentrate or focus.  Sometimes all the junk that I don’t want to deal with comes up, and since I don’t want to deal with it I just give up and go turn on something that will make noise. 

But I’m tired of making excuses.

And I’m tired of being tired all the time.

It is my goal during these two months to figure out what it means for me to truly rest in the Lord.  My resting in the Lord may look differently than your resting in the Lord.  But I’m going to figure out what mine is, and I’m going to sit in silence in the presence of the Lord and let Him revive and renew my soul.  I’ve never needed it more than I do now, and the Lord’s given me the opportunity so I’m not going to miss it.

How do you rest in the Lord?  Have you been doing it lately?

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.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

He is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart to him,

for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8