God’s Rest

Have you ever had one of those weeks when things just seem to be against you?  This past week has been one of those for me.  It ended quite differently, though.

I lost my wallet last week.  It seems every five or ten years, I lose my wallet.  This time was different, though.  I had a copy of my Social Security card in it along with my driver’s license. That means a dishonest person would have all the information needed to take out loans in my name. I would be responsible for those. They might even borrow on our house.  My mind began to fill with all the things evil people might do with this information.

To say this stressed me out is an understatement.  I’m the man of the family.  I was responsible for making this right.  As a result, my time was consumed with trying to right this error.  Getting my credit cards replaced was the easiest part.  It was subscribing to a credit protection agency that became difficult.  I needed to protect our home. The people I spoke with were in India.  While the language was the same, I had difficulty explaining concepts.  My frustration grew even higher. 

I was so busy trying to fix everything, I forgot Who really is in charge of ALL THINGS!  Finally, Thursday, God tapped me on the shoulder and reminded me He is the Fixer.

I confessed I was wrong not to call on Him first and asked Him to forgive me and take over.  Of course the next time I called the agency, I got a lovely woman in Tennessee who said, “Oh certainly.  I can help you with that,” and ten minutes later all was right with the world.

I’m sure you don’t have this problem, ignoring God in time of need.  I’m probably the only one.  But we’re Christians.  We’re supposed to rely on our Lord.  That’s somewhere in the contract we signed when we asked Him to take control of our lives.  Let me repeat that for my own future benefit, “to take control of our lives!”

Psalm 46:1-3 (ESV)  God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.      Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

That last word in verse 3, “Selah.”  That means “rest.”  It’s a musical term meaning to wait, pause, take a breath.  In times of stress and trouble even greater than my issue with the lost wallet, our refuge and our strength is the Lord.

Why is this important?

I must say I’m ashamed of myself and really didn’t want to write this blog.  But, as was mentioned earlier, I’m not in charge.

In times of stress and times of sadness or anger, our heads become so full of so many things we forget to look to the One Who can give us rest.  Really.  How many of us have Matthew 11:28 memorized without knowing it because either we’ve quoted it repeatedly to someone else, or they have quoted it to us?  And still we choose to suffer:

Matt. 11:28 (ESV)  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 

As humans, we strive to be in charge.  As Christians we should strive never to be in charge.  Don’t let me be the example, let my reaction to trouble be a warning.  Don’t do it, and I know that I will most likely do it again and so might you.  We’ll suffer needlessly when our God stands next to us, arms open, trying to break through all the unnecessary noise with His still small voice saying “I love you.  Let Me help.”