THERE IS A REST

     

                                                    REST

                       REST. Yes, there is a rest.

The image above is where I probably get the most rest.
An old recliner.  And, the chair I am sitting in now that
looks out across the neighbor's field.  And of course the
bed in the next room.

Not forgetting the several rocking chairs and the swing
the wife has on the front porch.  Or several rock benches
I have placed around the yard under trees.  Or three chairs
in my office.

Or over at my "hide a way" or retreat in Madison County
there are two recliners, two overstuffed chairs, two
straight back chairs and a bed inside.

Outside, two rock benches and a swing under the trees.
Not counting the chair I drug across the ravine up the
hill and put at the back of the property so I could sit and
rest while looking across the neighbor's fields.

But these are for the body.  What do we do when life is
overwhelming us.  We are swamped and about to go
down and out?  When the needs of the body are only
a fraction of our problem.

God has a rest for his people.

I hate to admit it.  But here I am 80 years old now.  My
life is in the balance and the bills are pilling up over my
head.  Of course it looks like all my dreams and aspirations
are a thing of the past.  But I finally learned where the rest
God has for His people is.

Any Christian knows that we are to walk in the Spirit, not
in the flesh.  [See Galatians 5:16 - 25]  And most of us do,
at least sort of.  We don't do all those bad things that are of the
flesh and we try to do the right things.

Here God let me see something.  In verse 16 the word "walk"
is "peripateo" in the Greek.  (Cool, eh!)  And if you will look it
up you will see that the major thought is, "to tread all around,
i.e. walk at large...".  Thanks to James Strong.

Now that is what I do sometimes with the grand kids.  We
may walk all around through the woods looking at stuff.  And
we are walking together.  And that's the way most of us
Christians walk with God in the Spirit.

But look at verse 18.  "But if you are LED by the Spirit, ..."
Hey!   There is a difference between wondering around in
life and being "LED" by the Spirit.  Who is making the choices
or directing my life?  If I am led by the Spirit in EVERYTHING,
then every thing I do becomes God's problem - not mine.  And
I rest in Him.  I dump it all on Him.  Me and my mess up become
His to fix, if I will dump it on Him and allow the Holy Spirit
to do the directing in EVERY THING.

Jesus said,

"Come to Me, all you who labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, 
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you 
will find rest for your souls."
(Matthew 11:28,29 NKJV)