Sunday, July 17, 2011

Rest

Sorry it's been so long since I wrote anything. I got a sinus infection the middle of June and the 2nd round of antibiotics messed up my stomach. I have not felt well since then. I would appreciate your prayers. I know many of you are extremely busy at your churches this summer, along with all your other responsibilities. This devotional from Wisdom Hunters is very good and I wanted to share it with you. Be sure to take time to rest and also to refresh your spirit. (Be sure and share this with your husbands, I'm sure they need to hear it,too!)

Resting Place


“God will speak to this people, to whom he said, “This is the resting place, let the weary rest”; and, “This is the place of repose”—but they would not listen. Isaiah 28:11b-12

Everyone needs a place to rest, a time to rejuvenate and restore your soul. A soul without rest is vulnerable to doubt, disease, and dread. Without soul care, you risk being ineffective for the long term. So, allow your soul to catch up with your activity through rest. A restless soul loses hope and perspective.

Stop right now and take an audit of your soul. Is it strung out and anxious? If so, rearrange your schedule for rest before it rearranges you. A non-restful pace is unsustainable, and a restful place is necessary to persevere. Do not fall for the false feeling that activity somehow equals progress or success. Without rest, you are going nowhere fast. If you intensify the pace, you are going nowhere, faster.

Rest allows you to recalibrate your priorities and replenish your cistern of creativity. Your work rhythms may require a day with no scheduled appointments. Indeed, each resting place looks different, depending on your need. For example, your resting place may be the quiet screened porch, where you relax with a cup of coffee and a good book.

For someone else, a resting place may be a comfortable couch, where they nap to the steady beat of raindrops pelting the rooftop. It can be the park where you walk with your best friend, a secluded drive in the countryside, or an adventurous exploration of the great Pacific Northwest. Whether your resting place is the beach, the mountains, or in front of a good movie, make time to engage with it. God speaks to you in your place of rest. This is one of His favorite spots to shape your soul.

Furthermore, your resting place allows you to resist temptation. Fatigue causes you to stumble and fall through life. If you are working through exhaustion, you may be missing God. A lethargic life struggles to listen to the Lord, and a heart worn down from weariness has a hard time hearing His voice. A depleted spirit is not primed for discernment, and decision-making during duress can be dreadful.

Therefore, go away to a resting place. Find God and find yourself under the canopy of His creation. A resting place is your protection from yourself, from evil influences, and from lost perspective. Above all else, your resting place reveals God in a refreshing way. His program takes on a new priority in His place of rest. Your confidence is resurrected. Your trust takes on a new level of intensity. Your patience leads to a deeper understanding of what it means to wait on the Lord.

A resting place is for your sake and His. It is necessary to experience God’s very best for you and your family. Discover your resting place in prayer, and go there often. Repentance follows rest, and robust relationships result from rest. Your best and most creative ideas emerge from relaxed meditation on your Master. Wisdom resides in rest.

Taken from the July 17th reading in the 365-day devotional book, Seeking Daily the Heart of God.

Additional Resource: eBooks- Wisdom for Fathers , Wisdom For Mothers, Wisdom for Graduates, Infusion and Seeking Daily the Heart of God… click here: http://bit.ly/jHlNX0

Additional Resource: Hard copy of the 365 day devotional: Seeking Daily the Heart of God and the 90-day devotional Infusion… click here: http://bit.ly/bQHNIE

Releasing on Labor Day the 90-day devotional book, Seeking God in the Psalms.

Boyd Bailey is the author of Wisdom Hunters daily devotional
and two devotional books, Infusion and
Seeking Daily the Heart of God