rest... in His love...

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.

For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears

has not been perfected in love. We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:18-19 ESV

My morning starts off different than most...

a flurry of activity...

making morning coffee...

unloading the dishwasher...

loading the dishwasher...

cleaning the kitchen...

left a mess the night before...

The alarm to wake my husband...

goes off in the kitchen...

I'm still in bed... asleep...

Usually I'm up before him... 

I'm his alarm...

but I have to set one or I forget...

The strange noise wakes me...

It's time for you to get up...

he doesn't move...

I roll out of bed...

into the kitchen...

still in nightgown...

usually workout clothes come first...

The flurry of activity begins...

besides the kitchen...

other things come to mind...

getting dressed...

making the bed...

starting laundry...

shopping online for Christmas...

I pursue these activities... with a bit of guilt...

this is not how I like to start my day...

the coffee making... yes...

but the rest...

and the shopping...

I feel like it's distracting me from Him...

He is the One I sit with first in my mornings...

with coffee... devotional... prayer journal...

praise... and His Word...

a time to sit... rest... begin the day right...

So this morning...

everything felt wrong...

out of order... out of sorts...

but I continued with the flurry...

until it felt complete...

I sat with Him...

feeling stirred...

like I failed Him...

put Him on the back burner...

until I read...

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you;

he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV

He was with me in the flurry...

in the out of sorts waking...

He went before me in this day...

beginning with online Christmas shopping...

The fear I felt... came from my flesh...

my desire to do things right...

to please Him...

I realized as I sat... pondering His presence... His love...

Instead of being fearful... I should be thankful... and joyful...

He made the way... to get things done...

things I didn't know how they would happen...

After the guilt-ridden flurry and fear of failing Him...

I find myself filled with thanks...

resting in His love for me...

His direction in my day...

even if it seems off to me...

He was before and with...

and loving me all the way...

Father God... help me to remember the lesson of resting in Your love...

trusting You are near... going before me in my day...

no matter how it goes...

rest in Him... in the unknown...

I don't like not knowing...

The loved one's words remind me...
when we don't know...
we can rest in the fact...
He knows...

I used to feel the same way about the unknown...

Being one gifted at coming up with the worst case scenario in any given situation... I was prone to worry... anxiety... fear...

As I've learned to trust Him...
I find great peace... and comfort...
in His knowing...

He is NEVER caught by surprise... or off guard...
NEVER... is He at a loss for what to do...
NEVER... is He manipulated... or played the fool...

He knows...
so I don't have to...

I find rest in His knowing...
when things catch me off guard...
or I'm at a loss for what to do...
or I've been manipulated and played...

He knew... He knows...
and He has His glory...
and my good...
at the heart of it...

If you find yourself... like one I love... saying...
I don't like not knowing...
find rest...
in the truth...
the fact...
He knows...
and you don't have to...

O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:1-6 ESV

resting in the truth... He is always right...

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven,

for all his works are right and his ways are just;

and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Daniel 4:32 ESV

Now if Nebuchadnezzar... a pagan king... who defeated God's people... can come to the truth that the King of heaven is always right... praise Him for it... then we should be able to also...

In His sovereignty... His control over all... He is responsible for all that happens... He takes responsibility for all He allows...

Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?

Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?

Lamentations 3:37-39 ESV

And He reinforces the thought which came this morning as I praised Him as Right... 

Father God... You are always right...! You are always just...!

We have no leg to stand on... when we complain before you...

Not only does He choose the miseries which come on account of the sin of the Fall... He also chooses the grace He gives... choosing an elect... choosing a people... to call His own... to save from the pain of sin.... of death...

And I think of a dear friend...

whose son had a narrow escape...

an incident which could have ended in death...

Tears rolled down her cheeks...

I could be collecting a body... and I'm thankful he's safe... but...

how can I praise Him for bringing my child back to me...

when so many others lose their's...?

Only the enemy stifles our praise...

with such fleshly logic...

a logic which forgets... denies...

He is always RIGHT...!

Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.

Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

Psalm 147:1-6 ESV

Even in those cases where children are lost...

a misery beyond belief...

He is right... just... always...

and always worthy of our praise...

Amen...

[A hard truth for our flesh to swallow... 

and here is where I pray... 

Lead me not into temptation...

but deliver me from evil...]

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew

he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he

might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined

he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom

he justified he also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30 ESV

learning to rest... in His way... not mine...

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV

His way... it's hardly ever the way we would do things...

and at times... it's a struggle to rest in His way...

I see the tears...

hear the crack in the voice...

feel my own frustration...

of those...and me... trying to trust in His way...

rest in what He's up to...

He tells us plainly...

My thoughts... are not yours...

My ways... are not yours...

I'm greater...

So why are we surprised...?

when things don't go our way...?

the way we think they should...?

Really... it's time to rest...

rest in His sovereignty...

His love...

His way which is so much higher... greater...

trusting Him... to fulfill what He promises...

in His time... and His way...

It's a lesson for a lifetime...

learning to trust... in His way...

not mine...

resting in Him... to make me light...

"You are the light of the world. ..."

Matthew 5:14 ESV

Jesus told His disciples... 

in His sermon on a hill...

You are the light of the world...

And it struck me a while back...

the truth of this statement...

what He meant...

what He was saying...

you... are... the light...

I... am... the light...

in a very... dark... world...

There is no other light... in all the world...

only His disciples carry His Spirit in our hearts...

only we can let His light shine...

we alone have light to shine...

You... I... we... are... the... light... of... the... dark... world...

An overwhelming... awesome... task...

when you think of all the darkness...

come face to face with it daily...

through family... friends... community... church...

There is a great darkness...

and we... His people... are the only light...

A song sung in praise and prayer recently...

set me to wondering about being light again...

There is a candle in every soul

Some brightly burning, some dark and cold

There is a Spirit who brings a fire

Ignites a candle and makes His home

So carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, confused and torn

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Take your candle, and go light your world

Frustrated brother, see how he's tried to

Light his own candle some other way

See now your sister, she's been robbed and lied to

Still holds a candle without a flame

So carry your candle, run to the darkness

Seek out the helpless, deceived and poor

Hold out your candle for all to see it

Take your candle, and go light your world

Singing... tears welled... ran down... 

You see... I feel as if darkness has been running to me lately...

frustrated brothers... sisters robbed and lied to ...

I know these people... love these people...

but feel helpless... to light their way...

So I ask Him...

Show me how... to be light... in the dark...

And I rest in this prayer...

and I listen for His way...

and I try to obey...

His quiet promptings...

give...

be quiet...

respect...

I don't do it perfectly... but I try...

it doesn't feel like being light...

because each call causes me suffering...

not a lot... but some... in small ways...

denying self... to be light for Him...

And I wonder...

Do they see it as light...?

will it make a difference...?

His Word calls His followers...

lay down your life in love...

so I find myself...

resting in Him... to make me light...

His way... not mine...

and experiencing...

some of His suffering...

I come to know Him better...

But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings,

that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

1 Peter 4:13 ESV

[click here to view on YouTube... or click post title to view on Jeremiah's Menu...]

Looking forward... to His glory... being revealed...

resting in change...

"... The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound,

but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.

So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

John 3:8 ESV

Change...

it's generally something we don't look forward to...

it comes with too many unknowns...

too many things to work out...

too much work...

Routine can be comfortable...

empowering even...

When we know what's coming...

and exactly how we're going to handle it...

we deceive ourselves into thinking we are in control...

This is the comfort zone of the flesh...

control...

But life with the Spirit is different...

we must accept right up front...

we are NOT in control...

To follow the Spirit is continual change...

not in core truths...

but in methods... modes...

The Spirit changes direction...

the Word says... it's like the weather...

winds shifting... and we are to follow...

unknown to us why... or where...

It came to mind over the last couple of weeks...

this new "series"... rest in Him...

I thought it would be like the two before...

lean on Him...

wait on Him...

But it's been completely different...

I tried at first to make it like the others...

searching the concordance...

noting verses...

going through the list... one by one...

seeking truth... and what He had to teach...

The list of rest verses...

has been abandoned...

as these days of writing rest in Him...

comes with a phrase or word picture...

He brings to mind...

of what it looks like to rest in Him...

He leads me to Scripture depicting rest in Him...

without using the word... rest...

So I've followed...

reluctantly letting go of the list...

the comfort of knowing what comes next...

but finding myself wondering...

how long will this series go...?

where is it going...?

will I know when it's done...?

Following the Spirit...

is learning the art...

of resting in change...

Reminders we are not in control...

and we don't need to be...

because He is...

Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:

"I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;

I will take you by the hand and keep you;

I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.

...

And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know,

in paths that they have not known I will guide them.

I will turn the darkness before them into light,

the rough places into level ground. These things I do,

and I do not forsake them. ..."

Isaiah 42:5-7, 16

Amen...!

rest in brokenness...

Brokenness...
I've heard a lot lately...
the heartbreaking kind...

In crying out to Him...
on behalf of the broken...
I find a place to rest...

His incredible love...

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son..."

John 3:16 ESV

His grace...

Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons,

for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor, they fell down, with none to help.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.

Psalm 107:10-13 ESV

His power to work evil for good...

"... But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant if for good,

in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. ..."

Genesis 50:20 NKJV

His plan and purpose for all...

And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on 

all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods

and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should

seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.

Yet he is actually not far from each one of us...

Acts 17:26-27 ESV

In interceding for the broken...
I find rest in Him...
trusting Him with those He loves...
more than I...
trusting Him to work good...
through His power to redeem...
trusting He knows what He's doing...
when I can't see...

Is there brokenness you need to trust Him with...?

Carry it to Him in prayer...
find a place...
to rest in brokenness...

rest in Him... 2 Corinthians 12:9...

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore,

I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,

so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

Weak... tired... unable to finish...

that's how I'm feeling today...

His Word to me says...

I can rest in my weakness...

I can rest in His strength...

I can rest in His grace... and... power...

Hoping you embrace your weakness... find rest in it... all the while... finding rest in His power... grace... and strength...

Amen...

rest in Him... Psalm 116:7-9...

Return, O my soul, to your rest;

for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,

my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;

I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalm 116:7-9 ESV

Sometimes... when your soul is stirred...

you just have to give it a talking to...

Soul... remember just how bountiful God has been to you...

He sent His Son... to save you...!

He delivered you from death...

turned mourning to joy...

smoothed rough paths... 

and lit the dark way...

Soul... walk before the Lord... in the land of the living...

those who have the promise of eternal life...

walk with joy... in your salvation...

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all,

how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:32 ESV

Sometimes... a soul just needs a talking to...

to return to rest... in... Him...

rest in Him... 1 Kings 8:56...

"Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel,

according to all he promised. Not one word failed of all his good promise,

which he spoke by Moses his servant. ..."

1 Kings 8:56 ESV

Yes... the Lord gives rest to His people...

but it's not all rest...

After wandering forty years...

Israel entered the Promised Land...

but no rest was had...

they fought for the land promised...

then after Joshua... the people rebelled against God...

in turn... nations fought against Israel...

kings were raised up...

David was the second king... a man after God's own heart... 

God promised him a son of rest...

"...Behold, a son shall be born to you who shall be a man of rest.

I will give him rest from all his surrounding enemies.

For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet

to Israel in his days. ..."

1 Chronicles 22:9 ESV

During the reign of his son... Solomon...

the nation of Israel... had peace on all sides...

and he acknowledged God's faithfulness in keeping His promises...

Before the rest...

during the wandering... 

battles... 

and temptations to rebel...

we can rest in His promises...

He is a Promise-Keeper...

in His promises...

we can rest...

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion

endures throughout all generations. [The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]

He upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.

You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:13-18 ESV

Believers wander today...

in enemy territory...

sojourning...

battling...

resisting...

until His promised return...

While waiting...

rest in His promises...

don't get discouraged...

for the Lord is faithful in all His words...

not one word fails...

This is my comfort in my affliction,

that your promise gives me life.

Psalm 119:50 ESV

rest in Him... Joshua 1:9...

"...Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,

for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9 ESV

After wrestling with Him...
over too much to do...
I find myself today...
resting in His call...

His call feels great...
and I feel small...

Joshua comes to mind...
called to fill the shoes of Moses...
(talk about a great call...)

Joshua called to seemingly impossible tasks...
lead hundreds of thousands across the flood stage Jordan...
defeat a great walled city with trumpets and shouts...

Along the way... in the midst of the call...
over and over... God assured...
Be strong... be courageous...
do not be dismayed... do not feel small...
I will be with you... wherever you go...

My call... not near as great as Joshua's...
but still... today... seems almost impossible...

And like Joshua...
I choose to rest in His call...
rest in His leading...
and the knowledge... wherever He calls me...
He will not leave me...

rest in Him... Exodus 13:21-22...

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way,

and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day

and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night

did not depart from before the people.

Exodus 13:21-22 ESV

I've been feeling stress-full of late...

all He's calling me to do...

with deadlines looming... seems impossible...

makes me feel I might fail...

which in turn makes me whiny...

(according to my husband...)

So today... I find myself... far from rest-full...

and needing to take a look at... Why...?

He reveals I've been focusing on the end...

believing rest... satisfaction... fulfillment...

will be found when it's all done...

But I know full well...

there will always be more...

And I think about Moses... finding rest in God's presence...

God's presence visible to Moses and the people he leads...

resting in God's continual guidance...

the pillar of cloud by day...

the pillar of fire by night...

They followed... forty years in the wilderness...

(at my age... I doubt I still have forty to go...)

and for many in the Exodus... a whole generation... including Moses...

the journey was all they had...

they didn't finish...

they didn't enter... the promised land...

I see rest is not found at the completion of the current call...

because the true end does not come till He returns...

rest is to be found in the journey...

Following His lead...

from one thing to the next...

being blessed now...

finding joy... peace... rest... now...

in the journey with Him...

Because really...

the journey is where transformation happens...

the journey is where sanctification does its work...

the day to day journey... of following Him...

resting in His faith-full presence...

Amen...

rest in Him... Exodus 33:14...

And he said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Exodus 33:14 ESV

God had said to Moses...

"... I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way,

for you are a stiff-necked people."

Exodus 33:3 ESV

He said this after the golden calf incident...

and the smashing of the commandments...

His announcement sent Moses into a tizzy...

Moses said to the Lord, "See, you say to me,

'Bring up this people,' but you have not let me know

whom you will send with me. Yet you have said,

'I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.'

Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight.

Consider too that this nation is your people."

Exodus 33:12-13 ESV

Moses found no rest... in God staying behind...

God had compassion on Moses...

in response to his prayer...

He relented and said...

My presence will go with you...

Along with God's presence...

He gives us rest...

No other presence...

gives us rest...

only God...

Like Moses...

call on Him to lead you...

follow Him and no other...

know His rest...

rest in Him... Genesis 8:1-4...

But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock

that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth,

and the waters subsided. The fountains of the deep and the windows

of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained,

and the waters receded from the earth continually. At the end of 150 days

the waters had abated, and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day

of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

Genesis 8:1-4 ESV

Noah... he worked for years... building the ark...

worked tirelessly... at what God called Him to do...

until it was complete...

The animals and Noah's family entered the ark...

his part complete... and now... he rested...

God shut the doors...

the water burst forth from the ground...

and poured down from the skies...

Forty days... forty nights...

All the while... Noah rested...

in the work he had done for God...

All the while... Noah rested...

caring for the animals God entrusted to Him...

All the while... Noah rested...

trusting God where he had no control...

Noah rested...

he rested in the work he did...

he rested in the call God put on his life...

he rested in God... for the outcome...

When God calls us to work...

we work until its complete...

then we rest in the work...

rest in what God has in store...

rest in Him... for the outcome...

rest in Him... Exodus 31:12-17...

And the Lord said to Moses, "You are to speak to the people of Israel and say,

'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you

throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.

You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you.

Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it,

that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done,

but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord.

Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.

Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath

throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign

forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord

made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.'"

Exodus 31:12-17 ESV

Early on in His relationship with His people...

God made a law... He commanded them to rest...

it was His idea... His way... for His people to rest in Him...

Rest was serious business for the Israelites...

it was a capital offense... to work on the day of rest...

working seven days a week could get you killed...

Their Sabbath... their day of rest...

was a sign between God and the people of Israel...

a sign of God's perfect provision...

He Himself... worked six days... 

created everything to complete the world...

then... He rested...

He called His people to do the same...

Work six days...

rest in Me on the seventh...

make it a holy day...

set apart for Me...

In this rest...

He's telling His people...

He's the One who provides all we need...

without Him... we have nothing...

In this rest...

He's telling His people...

Recognize all I do for you...

trust Me to provide completely...

even while you rest...

He sanctifies... He provides...

for us this is true too...

we cannot work our way into anything...

only by His grace do we have what we have...

Only by His grace... can we rest in Him...

We no longer practice Sabbath like the Israelites...

we no longer face the sentence of death if we don't...

solely because... He has made the Way...

of perfect rest... in Christ Jesus...

Jesus died... for every broken Sabbath...

every broken law...

and for those who rest in Him...

we find life... peace... freedom from condemnation...

and freedom from being found out...

Rest...

Rest in Him...

live your whole life...

as a holy day toward Him...

set apart your life...

and rest in the work He's doing...

in and through you...