Witness Talk on Rest

As you all know, the Bible is living. Every book, every chapter, and every verse are pregnant with meaning. The meaning is very unique to each reader. Not in the sense that the meaning is given BY the person reading it, but that the words themselves are full and overflowing with multiple portions of knowledge that fill us where we are empty. I am sure you all have experienced this phenomenon yourselves. One day you read a verse, and it speaks to you so powerfully and you are forever changed by the wisdom gained, and as time passes, you re-read the same passage only to find that there is more to what you read. There is “another take” on the same passage. A way to see it that you didn’t see before. Well, this happens to me often, and the most recent was with my very own Cursillo weekend verse. I will start with quoting it.
Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
When I attended my weekend, I did not think I needed this encounter. I didn’t feel it necessary. It was just something I did after John attended his weekend. It was a getaway, and John was encouraging me to go, so “why not”?
As I contemplated this verse that would represent my weekend, I was thinking that it had very little significance. I really wasn’t in need of rest. Things were going pretty good actually.
It was not until after the weekend was over that I realized my life was indeed in need of rest. I went through many changes and the Holy Spirit brought forth lots of dark areas in my life that I had pushed aside and left unresolved. As I navigated through the new waters with a fresh perspective, I knew that I had work ahead of me.
Things started happening all at once. There were conflicts under tough scrutiny by me. A true re-evaluation of my life and where it was supposed to be going. Was I truly where God wanted me to be? Was I doing what God wanted me to do? All of these questions and no answers equaled stress and no rest! I sat back and absorbed my special verse and indeed drew closer to Christ to give me the rest I craved. As I prayed for this rest, He sent me people to advise me and comfort me. He sent me prayer warriors to lift me up. He sent me solutions to problems that plagued me. He spoke to me and said “Come to Me”, and as I did just that, He poured out His mercy and grace on me. He poured out His loving kindness and covered me with the blanket of His love. I finally understood what He wanted from me. He wanted me to simply,”Come to Him”. To show up at His door. He had what I needed. He offered rest. I accepted His offer.
After this, I thought I had it figured out. I saw the reason I needed to be at Cursillo that weekend. I saw the need for me to learn to come to Christ. I thought about my future with Christ as I would no longer delay in coming to Him when the burdens of my life overwhelmed me. No longer would I go it alone. No longer would I not ask for rest when I felt I needed it. What a great verse I had discovered. What a great new perspective on dealing with the times when I felt life’s pressure burying me. I would just bring these troubles to my Lord, and He would make them go away for awhile. He would give me the break I needed to rest, before tackling whatever was pressing in on me. Thank you Christ for all of the rest you provided, as I learned more about You and your ways.
As we all know, not all burdens are created equal. Some are here for an hour, some a day, some a lifetime. As I have walked my path with Christ, I have been awakened to this truth. What happens when I need rest, but rest is not possible? I have found this to be so true in the case of our adoption. The ups and downs of our case. The seemingly endless waiting. The day in day out prayers for resolution. The tears, the sadness, the injustice, and the hole in my heart that is just the right size to fit in a tiny little 2 year old girl who waits to come home to her mommy. I know I have gone to Christ for rest during many times throughout these past years of waiting. How often Christ has listened to my whining and crying and mourning. How often has He dried my tears and sent me back out the door to continue walking the walk. How often has He held me for awhile, and then turned me around and said “GO”. It took several times of these encounters with Christ to see that He was treating me differently than He did before. I realized one day that He was not giving me the rest I thought I needed. I guess growing pains are felt just as keenly in spiritual growth as they are in physical growth!
Just a few days ago, Christ awakened in me a new truth about my Cursillo verse. He has been pulling me forward toward this for awhile. He allowed me to see a new meaning to the same words. A more grown-up meaning if you will. First, He still says,”Come to Me”, but not to have him make it all better. Not to have Him remove the burdens of my life, or allow me to sail over them. I need to come to Him to get direction, to let go of everything and commit it all to Him. The “rest” that Christ offers is not putting me to bed and holding my hand and singing me to sleep, but it is getting me out of bed, out of listlessness and exhaustion, and out of my condition of being half dead while I am still alive.(Quoted from My Utmost for His Highest). His rest will sustain me, causing me to stand firm.
I read the other day about two artists who were asked to draw a picture depicting rest. One drew a serene lake in a secluded spot. Free from all distraction. I could just picture this, and really relate to wanting to go there! The other drew a crashing waterfall with a tree standing next to it. In the tree was a bird’s nest, and in it a momma bird with her babies. When evaluated, the first artist’s rendering was determined not to be rest, but stagnation. The second drawing however, was true rest, rest that is not derived from the absence of activity. Hmmm. I am getting a new insight.
So often my circumstances are cause for chaos, not rest. I look for ways to engineer these circumstances so that they cause the least amount of chaos. I sometimes avoid or stop things just to make sure I don’t have certain circumstances to deal with. In my avoidance, I avoid God. I avoid His plans for me. I hinder His ability to orchestrate great things and true growth in me. Jesus never chose His circumstances either. He allowed God the Father to do this. He submitted to the Father’s plan and directions for Him. God made plans, and Jesus, regardless of the circumstances, carried them out. How did He do that???? How can I do this? I know my circumstances are real, and be that as it may, I must maintain complete reliance on God. I must be willing to risk all for His sake. I must trust Him. I must remember that He is with me always, and that He is aware of every circumstance surrounding me, even the ones that I am not aware of. I must remember that He always does what He says He’s going to do. Just like in the gospel of Mark. Jesus said,”Let us cross to the other side.” When the storm came, and the disciples woke Him, they were fearful of what might happen to them. Jesus rebuked them. He has rebuked me also for just this kind of fear. He tells me one thing, and then when all is not smooth sailing, I want to cry out and ask Him to make it stop! He told the disciples “Let us cross to the other side”. He did not tell them that they would “attempt” to cross to the other side. He did not tell them that they would smoothly sail to the other side. He did not tell them that they would cross to the middle and drown in a violent squall. He simply tells them “Let us cross to the other side.” He tells, we follow. No matter what happens in between, the end result will be the same. If Jesus says we are going to the other side, then we will go to the other side. The circumstances we encounter along the way are not of our concern. I must admit that in the storms of my life, I am guilty of looking skyward and shouting, ”A little help here, please!!” I think that what I may need to do is look skyward and shout, ”Now what?” After all, He tells, I follow. These are His circumstances, and He knows best how to deal with them. He was the one on the boat napping. He was completely at rest. He was unbothered by the wind and unflustered by the waves. I imagine He was getting a bit wet from the spray of the sea, yet He continued His rest. He knew who was in control. He dwelled not on anything else. If my focus is on Christ, I will fear not, and I will always be at rest.