Taking time to rest in Jesus
Psalm 16:8-10: I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
Many of us are dreaming of “getting away” like never before as we have been extensively confined to our homes because of COVID-19. We might long for disappearing from daily life and enjoying family activities together as the summer quickly approaches — hikes in the mountains, bike trails, fishing, boating or even simple walks down the sidewalks of Holyoke.
The problem is that we can intentionally carve out time in our schedules to get away but never actually find rest. Peace can escape us, and often does during the summer season. If you could find peace and rest from your weariness, what would that look like?
King David describes the kind of rest that God desires for his people to have throughout their life and not just for a summer trip. We can drive hundreds of miles, fly across an ocean, and spend thousands of dollars but still not find rest if we are not careful. The kind of rest God desires you to have cannot be found by your GPS. Amazon’s Alexa will not help either.
The rest that God desires you to have this summer can only be found in Christ. King David describes the focus of his eyes. They are fastened on the Lord. He says that he will not be shaken nor will he eternally suffer, no matter what his days would bring. The road to rest that David is describing produces confidence in the present and hope in the future.
The Hebrew word for “rest” in this passage means “to settle down, to abide, or to dwell.” What David found is that there is a road to rest when we relinquish ourselves to God’s loving leadership in our life. When we lead a life without rest, we are actually diminishing God’s goodness and trustworthiness to lead our lives, but when we live under the Lord’s reign over us, we demonstrate his supremacy over us: that he has superior motives, abilities and qualifications to lead us.
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