Are You Rested?

How are you? I notice that very few people respond to the question with, "Great!, thanks!"

And honestly, I often adjust it to, "Thanks, I’m good, but…" When I analyze this "but" more closely, it often has to do with the fact that I am unrested. I'm fine, but there's so much to do and I'm so tired.

I spend time with God every day, I pray, I try to live according to His will, and yet there is this slight exhaustion that triggers this admission that I’m not really doing as well as I’d like. When I noticed my response recently, I didn’t like to hear myself being so negative. "Thanks, I'm fine, but...!" Haha. That can't be the life God wants for us!

To find joy, you have to start with rest!

“Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.” (Genesis 2:3 NIV)

Do you know how often this seventh day returns? Once every week! I know you know that, but do you know what it means? That’s how often God wants us to rest.

I had to smile when I searched the Internet for a more precise meaning of the word "rest" and found there the example of a bridge: "The bridge rests on three pillars." I could not have painted this picture any better. You too may rest on these pillars of God’s provision.

Praise to God, who has shown you that RESTING is just as important as working; to Jesus, who has taken away all the burden of your sin and guilt so you can REST; and to the Holy Spirit, who will remind you again and again that you need this REST, in order to turn your hesitant answer from, "I'm fine, but...", to, "Thank you, I'm doing great!"

Do we—you and I—want to work on this to get back to that peace that God wants for us?

You are a miracle!

Déborah