Resting in God

Monday, April 17, 2017

Resting in God

Scripture:

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Exodus 33:14

And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Jeremiah 31:25

 “…For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

Psalm 46:10

 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Isaiah 40:31

…but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

Devotional:

As I have been walking out my days of late, the theme of Matthew 11:28 has been continually put before me. I love to draw scripture out in calligraphy as a part time hobby, and I have found recently that I have several different versions of this scripture. God has been gently but persistently trying to teach me that there will be no striving that will produce fruit in my life. Only by snuggling into Him and burrowing deeply into His Word and abiding in His Presence will I find that rest.

I am sitting in my car this evening while I wait for my husband to return home from a meeting. The sitter is with the children, and tonight we will be sneaking away to enjoy a private birthday dinner just the two of us. I found myself alone for a full thirty (almost 45) minutes for the first time in about a week, and so here I am. Studying His Word. Sharing with you what He lays on my heart.

I am so grateful that God is the author of my time and my days. I love Him dearly. A big part of being a stay at home mom of toddlers, one who is quite delayed and living with moderate to severe autism and the other who is definitely a leader, strong willed, and sharp as a tack (reading and sounding out multisyllabic words at age 3 ½, understanding simple addition, and angling everyday for authority in some or all areas of her sweet little life) is that my days are very, very busy. They are wonderful but long and exhausting. There are times when I can’t figure out if I will ever have my entire house clean, organized and the garage settled. But no doubt about it, my time with God is truly non-negotiable. I can’t breathe without it, because when I try I find myself unable to cope and deal with all these stresses.

That’s why I’m here tonight. Lately, the enemy has been trying to steal that time away from me with interrupted sleep and early wakeups. I haven’t been able to have time alone to study the Word. Well, it looks like God has an escape plan for that one! He has provided this green pasture and these still waters to help me to restore my soul (Psalm 23). I am so grateful that I am His sheep.

I encourage you, too, to look for those unusual times when you find yourself surprised by time available to worship, read, pray, get into His Word. He wants to provide that time of fellowship with you, and He wants to give you the rest you need in your soul.

Prayer:

Father, I am deeply grateful that You are the One Who manages my time. You are the One Who has carved out even this time to dig in to Your Word, pray, and fellowship with You. I am blessed and honored to mother these children, manage this home (and be the wife to my husband). Teach me to perform my tasks with a rested spirit. Show me how to carve time with You.

I lift up my child(ren) this day and ask that You will fully envelope them with Your Presence. I ask that they, too would come to You and yoke themselves with You that You can be the guide they need. I ask that they would be protected from the attacks of the enemy. I also lift up (area of need or concern) for Your intervention. I bind the enemy in this situation, and ask that Your host of angels would camp around our home and fight this battle on our behalf.

I worship and honor You today, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.