Peace!
Life has a way of wearing you down. The daily up and down grind can make you feel as if you are on a roller-coaster as you deal with physical, emotional and financial issues.
I was reading 1 Corinthians this week as part of my regular devotions. I didn't make it past the 3rd verse of the 1st chapter. That verse says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 1:3) It's a wonderful greeting Paul gives in his letter and it got me thinking how great it would be if we greeted each other with grace and peace today! Peace seems to be lacking in so many lives, yet God is a God of comfort.
I looked up the word peace in the dictionary and I found two definitions of peace that resonated with me. The first one is a state of calm and quiet. The other is freedom from disturbing thoughts or emotions.
Both are fitting descriptions.
A state of calm and quiet. Probably the thing we think of most when we think of peace is quiet. Just a chance to take a time to rest and relax. No worries, no distractions, just quiet. Jesus often went away with the Father for some alone time. Sometimes the crowds followed Him and sometimes He got alone but He never stopped setting aside time for rest.
How often do we set aside time for rest? There is always something to be done, someone who may need us, demands on our time. We give in to every whim of life. Why not set aside time to refresh?
Freedom from disturbing thoughts or emotions. This definition is one I am struggling with the most. I can't just turn off my mind and rest. I lay in bed and the days activities run through my mind as I recall the good and the bad while planning the next day. I too often recall the hurts of life and the conflicting emotions that come up as I try to do what's right and yet so often do the wrong thing. (Romans 7:15)
So I come back to this greeting in 1 Corinthians. As I read this verse, I was also reminded of Psalm 23. Particularly I am drawn to the verse that says, "He leads us beside still waters."
There is truth in that verse. This past year has been an...interesting...one. I've taken some hits in unexpected ways, seen God bless me in others and through it all...through the worst of it...I can say that I know His peace. It is a peace that truly passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7), and yet it is undeniably His peace.
So my wish for you, my greeting, is that of 1 Cor. 1:3, grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Showing posts with label Rest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rest. Show all posts
5/1/13
Resting Well - Just A Thought #57
Mark 6:30-32, "The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And
he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a
while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to
eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves."
Sounds like the apostles were busy and Jesus knew they needed a break. Do you ever feel like you don't even have a chance to catch a quick meal before you go, go, go?
Do you feel like you rest well? I am not talking about sleep, though that is an issue for many, but resting and refreshing in the Lord? Do you take time away to renew and refresh yourself in His presence? Are you stopping from the hustle and bustle to reconnect with the Father?
How well do you rest?
I am SLOWLY learning the value of rest in the midst of a busy season. I have intentionally pulled back from some things...even some of my leisure activities, in order to rest more. I am finding my thoughts turning to the Lord as I seek His wisdom on what to pick up and what to lay down.
We should allow rest to shift our attention. To pull back from the things that keep us busy and to re-focus on the Kingdom of God.
We should use this time to get refocused. Our priorities may need to be re-shifted as we seek to balance our relationship with God, family, work and play.
Do we truly slow down enough when we rest? As it says in Ecclesiastes, there is a season for everything.
God gave us days to work, but he also calls us to take a Sabbath, a time to rest. We should not feel guilty when we slow down and stop to breathe.
"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." (Hebrews 11:9)
We may work well but do we rest well?
Sounds like the apostles were busy and Jesus knew they needed a break. Do you ever feel like you don't even have a chance to catch a quick meal before you go, go, go?
Do you feel like you rest well? I am not talking about sleep, though that is an issue for many, but resting and refreshing in the Lord? Do you take time away to renew and refresh yourself in His presence? Are you stopping from the hustle and bustle to reconnect with the Father?
How well do you rest?
I am SLOWLY learning the value of rest in the midst of a busy season. I have intentionally pulled back from some things...even some of my leisure activities, in order to rest more. I am finding my thoughts turning to the Lord as I seek His wisdom on what to pick up and what to lay down.
We should allow rest to shift our attention. To pull back from the things that keep us busy and to re-focus on the Kingdom of God.
We should use this time to get refocused. Our priorities may need to be re-shifted as we seek to balance our relationship with God, family, work and play.
Do we truly slow down enough when we rest? As it says in Ecclesiastes, there is a season for everything.
God gave us days to work, but he also calls us to take a Sabbath, a time to rest. We should not feel guilty when we slow down and stop to breathe.
"There remains therefore a rest for the people of God." (Hebrews 11:9)
We may work well but do we rest well?
3/11/12
Where Am I?
No, I am not playing the Rick version of Where's Waldo.
I am just in a different place right now.
It started with the word I felt the Lord gave me for 2012. Prayer.
I started talking to the Father a bit more and the more I prayed, the more relaxed I felt. 2011 was a year of stress but 2012 has definitely been a year of refreshing. In fact I have had people stop me and tell me that I look more relaxed and at peace.
I've also had people ask what was wrong with me...because I have been a bit more quiet and contemplative as well. I am a talker and when a talker doesn't talk, people get uncomfortable and ask if the talker is ok.
Mark 6:30-32 says, "The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place."
I have felt the call to come away to a solitary place and get some rest. I couldn't leave my job but I have pulled back and just spent timer mentally refreshing with the Lord.
As Psalm 23 puts it: He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul;
I have to say, it has been nice.
Part of my refreshing meant I was also away from my blog even more than last year. Besides the occasional book review, compassion post or interview I have been largely silent. (no loss I know)
I expect I will post a bit more now.
When was the last time you felt refreshed?
I am just in a different place right now.
It started with the word I felt the Lord gave me for 2012. Prayer.
I started talking to the Father a bit more and the more I prayed, the more relaxed I felt. 2011 was a year of stress but 2012 has definitely been a year of refreshing. In fact I have had people stop me and tell me that I look more relaxed and at peace.
I've also had people ask what was wrong with me...because I have been a bit more quiet and contemplative as well. I am a talker and when a talker doesn't talk, people get uncomfortable and ask if the talker is ok.
Mark 6:30-32 says, "The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place."
I have felt the call to come away to a solitary place and get some rest. I couldn't leave my job but I have pulled back and just spent timer mentally refreshing with the Lord.
As Psalm 23 puts it: He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul;
I have to say, it has been nice.
Part of my refreshing meant I was also away from my blog even more than last year. Besides the occasional book review, compassion post or interview I have been largely silent. (no loss I know)
I expect I will post a bit more now.
When was the last time you felt refreshed?
9/1/11
A Selah Moment - Just A Thought #48
I have started this post a few times already. I just can't seem to describe what it is I was feeling this past year. Let me try one more time.
AAUUUGGGHHH!
Yeah that works. Do you ever feel like that? Work, family, just life in general can seem to pile up to the point where you feel like screaming. At times, I feel like that metal ball in a pinball machine, bouncing all around, off the sides and just when you think you may be coming to a place of rest, you get smacked hard and start the whole process over again!
Maybe that's why I have been drawn to the Psalms lately. This past year, I felt God really talking to me about letting some things go. Nothing major. More like saying no to things, cutting out some of the distractions, just setting priorities. I was in a bit of a winter season.
As much as you would like it to, life doesn't slow down. Yet in reading the Psalms, I find my heart being renewed. The Psalms are awesome because there is so much going on. David and the other psalmists express a lot of emotion. At times it's like a roller coaster in the midst of the Psalms. Up and down, lamentations and praise. Then there is something more...a word found 71 times in the Psalms.
Selah.
When coming across this word in the Psalms, the reader is invited to pause and to meditate or reflect on the message. At least that is what has been happening to me. I come across Selah and I stop and re-read the passage. I reflect on what is being said. I meditate on the Word.
Selah.
My life feels like the Psalms. Up and down, lamentations and praise. Yet in the midst of all of it, I feel God calling me to rest. To slow down and reflect. To pause. A friend called it a Selah moment. I like that.
No mater where you are at right now, I invite you to take a Selah moment with the King of Kings!
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!"
Just A Thought
AAUUUGGGHHH!
Yeah that works. Do you ever feel like that? Work, family, just life in general can seem to pile up to the point where you feel like screaming. At times, I feel like that metal ball in a pinball machine, bouncing all around, off the sides and just when you think you may be coming to a place of rest, you get smacked hard and start the whole process over again!
Maybe that's why I have been drawn to the Psalms lately. This past year, I felt God really talking to me about letting some things go. Nothing major. More like saying no to things, cutting out some of the distractions, just setting priorities. I was in a bit of a winter season.
As much as you would like it to, life doesn't slow down. Yet in reading the Psalms, I find my heart being renewed. The Psalms are awesome because there is so much going on. David and the other psalmists express a lot of emotion. At times it's like a roller coaster in the midst of the Psalms. Up and down, lamentations and praise. Then there is something more...a word found 71 times in the Psalms.
Selah.
When coming across this word in the Psalms, the reader is invited to pause and to meditate or reflect on the message. At least that is what has been happening to me. I come across Selah and I stop and re-read the passage. I reflect on what is being said. I meditate on the Word.
Selah.
My life feels like the Psalms. Up and down, lamentations and praise. Yet in the midst of all of it, I feel God calling me to rest. To slow down and reflect. To pause. A friend called it a Selah moment. I like that.
No mater where you are at right now, I invite you to take a Selah moment with the King of Kings!
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!"
Just A Thought
6/10/11
Rest
“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” (Hebrews 4:9-10)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:8,9).
I mentioned more than once over the years how I struggled with fear, doubt, etc. This experience led to my continually striving to “prove” myself to God. I figured that witnessing for Him would earn His pleasure. Later, as a missionary, I thought that maybe NOW I was doing enough. The feelings continued though. I did not feel accepted though I spent time in pastoral ministry and continually told others about Him! The reason I had no peace was due to the fact that I kept trying to earn something I already had.
ACCEPTANCE!
John 3:16 says if we believe in Him, we will have eternal life. We are accepted!
I do not have to strive. In fact, by striving to earn a gift God already gave, I am making a mockery of His gift! All I have to do is receive it and rest!
I don’t have to perform like a trained circus animal to earn His love, His mercy and His forgiveness. I already have it.
I need to enter that rest.
Instead of working to earn His pleasure, I need to live in relationship with Him. When I worship Him, spending time growing in my relationship, then I will learn His heart and thoughts. Out of that, work will naturally flow.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:8,9).
I mentioned more than once over the years how I struggled with fear, doubt, etc. This experience led to my continually striving to “prove” myself to God. I figured that witnessing for Him would earn His pleasure. Later, as a missionary, I thought that maybe NOW I was doing enough. The feelings continued though. I did not feel accepted though I spent time in pastoral ministry and continually told others about Him! The reason I had no peace was due to the fact that I kept trying to earn something I already had.
ACCEPTANCE!
John 3:16 says if we believe in Him, we will have eternal life. We are accepted!
I do not have to strive. In fact, by striving to earn a gift God already gave, I am making a mockery of His gift! All I have to do is receive it and rest!
I don’t have to perform like a trained circus animal to earn His love, His mercy and His forgiveness. I already have it.
I need to enter that rest.
Instead of working to earn His pleasure, I need to live in relationship with Him. When I worship Him, spending time growing in my relationship, then I will learn His heart and thoughts. Out of that, work will naturally flow.
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