When we are Weary He is Worthy

Life has been lots of ups and downs lately. Between working at Bluebird, St. Mary's, cleaning for a lady, and trying to balance a boyfriend, my life has very few still moments. I've come to realize how important rest is. Rest looks different for everyone. Weather you take time to go on a walk, do a puzzle, sit at a coffee shop, or walk around the thrift store everyone finds rest differently. Even on my off day I was working for other people. The Bible tells us to rest. It says to on the 7th day God rested. In fact it's even more specific in the ten commandments when it says "keep the sabbath holy" . It's a little hard to keep the Sabbath holy when working for a church on Sunday. But that means that I should be taking another day for rest but I'm not. God has been trying to teach me to rest. In order to do that I need to cast my cares on him but I wasn't laying anything down to be cast upon Him. In fact I just kept picking up more things. There's this quote from G. Gunderson that says "when work is and idol rest will feel like a sin". I've been thinking about that quote a lot lately. So often I feel like I can't rest until I've accomplished all that is on my todo list. I feel guilty for resting because I haven't completed my commitments.

I always seem to set my selfcare aside so that I can get things done. Sometimes I convince myself that after I complete my tasks then I can take time for myself and for God. I realized that when you don't put God first you don't have time for anything else. He should be a priority, not getting my scraps.

Isaiah 58:11 says

"And the Lord will guide you continually

and satisfy your desire in scorched places

and give strength to your bones;

and you will be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water,

whose waters do not fail."

A friend sent me this verse and a reminder that "Even when circumstances feel barren, He can refresh and strengthen your soul. With Him you can flourish in places that would normally drain you, because he becomes your constant source. When you feel spiritually dry or exhausted, turn to God for renewal."

I needed that reminder. I thought of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10 where Jesus is journeying through the village and Mary and Martha welcome Jesus into their home.

"Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

As much as I want to criticize Martha for not enjoying the company of Jesus - how often do we truly slow down and experience the presence of who He is? My life looks so much like Martha's. We get frustrated that the people around us aren't helping us serve and tired that we seem to be the only one putting in any work. But what if we slowed down and realized it isn't about serving. It isn't about our effort that we put in. If we are expecting to find rest when we are constantly serving other people we aren't going to find it. And yes the bible does say "its better to give than to receive" but what if we gave our time in return for rest. There is nothing that I can do to prove my worth to God. No amount of service projects, no amount of mission trips, no amount of speaking engagements and no amount of church services will prove myself worthy of the grace and love of God. He gives his grace freely to those who go to church and those who don't. He give His love freely to those who serve and those that don't. When we are worn out we don't need to attend another church gathering, read another self help book or listen to another podcast - we need to spend time resting at the feet of Jesus.

God promises restoration to those who seek Him. He promises to guide us and give us nourishment. You will not find restoration with out rest. I saw this quote a while back that said "Rest isn't the absence of problems it's the presence of God" When you rest let God sharpen you.

I've been learning this since July but if I'm being honest I don't know what rest looks like. I wrote this blog once already and it didn't save. I can't remember what it said but I do know that the bible says " Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give them rest." And God has been teaching me what that means. He has been teaching me to let go, to put things down, and trust in him. There's never not going to be problems and things to do, but there will always be a God who can carry your burdens. I'm honestly not sure what living like that looks like either, but I do know that He is faithful. When I am tired a still worthy of my praise. Even if that praise looks like sitting silently on my bed with Jesus. Enjoy His presence and you will find rest. When we are weary He is still worthy.