This Is the Day the Lord Has MadeSample

RESTING IN GOD

In our modern world, getting caught up in the go-go-go is easy, but God calls us to rest. We could rest on Sundays, but do we rest during the week? Do we give him time out of our schedule to just rest and be with God? I enjoyed going on retreats in middle school and high school youth groups: fun, food, and friends. What more does a middle school guy want? That was my mindset going into retreats, but leaving was different. By the end of our retreats, I would find just how important rest was for my spiritual walk with Christ, whether that's physical rest or not.

During retreats, I found that we all connect with God differently, but at the same time, we all connect well in our own way. There was one day at one of our high school retreats where, after the talk, we were tasked with going out and finding a spot to reflect on the passages from the message. I picked a hammock in a tree as I felt like I connected with God better there. One of my buddies was across the field shooting a soccer ball into a net, and even though he wasn't physically resting, he was still resting in His presence.

In the Bible, we find how God rested after He created the world and during Jesus' ministry, trusting that the right time would come for him to minister to the right people. When we are going through life holding on to control, we go-go-go and do not give enough space for God in our daily lives. In Isaiah, we read, "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you… Blessed are all who wait for him!" So, living our lives as busy as we are, we might not be trusting Him fully with our lives and our everything.

God, help us find more time to be with you and live in your presence daily. We pray that you will show us where we don't trust you and where we need to trust you more each day. Thank you for being a God who desires us to trust and rest in you. In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen.

Matthew Dugaw, 11th grade