"Be at rest...for the Lord has been good to you." - Psalm 116:7

Rest...not a very easy thing to do these days.  The dictionary definition of rest is "refreshing ease or inactivity, calm, tranquility, freedom from worry".  When was the last time you experienced something like that?  I especially like Psalm 116:7 because it relates rest to gratitude.  Ellen Vaughn in CHOOSING GRATITUDE by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (I know...I use it a lot!) says:

"Gratitude unleashes the freedom

to live content in the moment, rather

than being anxious about the future or

regretting the past."

I think one of the reasons we don't allow ourselves to rest is that we are not "content in the moment".  We, in fact, are discontent!  Things like social networking (and I'm guilty) have caused us to be distracted and anxious about our own lives.  We've become "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" (2 Tim 3:2-4).  Oswald Chambers calls rest "oneness with God".  That means we become so into Him that we remove all other elements of our lives and circumstances.  We let go of those things that cause us anxiety and turmoil and we trust Him completely.  Can you see the need for rest?  Tim Kimmel says "rest is a choice".

One of my very favorite Christian songs is "Word of God Speak" by Mercy Me:

 Word of God speak

Would you pour down like rain;

Washing my eyes to see your majesty.

To be still and know that you're in this place

Please let me stay and rest in your holiness

Word of God speak.

The world will tell you "stay busy all the time" - the Word of God tells you "be at rest...".

For further study:  Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 33:14, Psalm 91:1, Jeremiah 6:16, Matthew 11:28, Mark 6:31, John 14:27, Romans 1:21, Colossians 3:15, Philippians 4:6-7, 2 Thessalonians 3:16, 2 Timothy 3:2-4.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly