Soul Rest for the Tired and Wearyনমুনা

Sit Down at God’s Table

Scripture: Psalm 23:5

Rest often is not a viable option. Mostly because I wonder, “What will happen if I take some time?” I either feel like I’m going to miss out, lose out or, worst of all, that someone might take advantage of me. Things may not turn out well.

I’ve trusted people before and done things in a restful and easy way, only to find out later that I got slighted. Can’t let that happen again. So, instead of rest, I put up cautionary, defensive walls to protect myself. It can look like working hard, doing more, or becoming a micro-manager type of mother or worker. When you’ve been burned, it can be hard to feel safe. 

Many of us don’t even realize it, but we set out to create our own blessing. We may say it was God, as we talk to others, but we know what we put in and how hard we worked. Because we didn’t know rest, we never really got to know God as the one who really blesses us.

Are you a hard worker? Do you feel you can’t sit down because things may not go well? God says He prepares a table, a feast, for us in the presence of our enemies. Imagine that picture: we sit down in the very place where all our enemies are scheming and working to take us down. Yet, what do we do? We eat. We enjoy. We sit back. We relax.

Why? Because our King is greater than any enemy to rest. In this, we can rest. Not only that, but taking things a step further, our King makes our cup pour to overflow. This means the more we lay back, the more we find ourselves filled by His love and His Word.

This is refreshment and renewal. This is blessing and it is joy. This is a soul-reviving that you know can only come from the goodness of God.

But it is only available for those courageous enough to sit down at the banqueting table, even when it looks like their enemies may devour them or take advantage of them. It is available to those who are radical and risky enough to be present with God.

Father, give me the courage to set things down when I feel that I can’t. May I trust in you more than any of my good works. In Jesus’s name. Amen.