Monday January 13, 2020
I wondered today about the amount of times David mentions rest. Rest from his enemies and from his troubles, from evil, from those who don’t fear the Lord.
David’s desperation for rest is very different from mine. I don’t have armies and kings trying to kill me.
I’m sitting in my cozy living room with a warm cup of coffee. On my lap I have my leather notebook and Bible and of course my favorite pen. I check my Fitbit to see the re-cap of activity from yesterday and gauge how busy I’ll be today so I can hit 10,000 steps.
It reminds me of my washing machine. My grandchildren love helping me turn it on. It’s a front-load so you can see suds in the water and the clothes going around and around. When the cycle is complete, they want to start it up all over again, they don’t care that the clothes are already clean.
Sometimes I feel like those clothes. I’m stuck in the bad news I received. I’m caught in the negativity of a situation. I go around and around and around and I can’t get out. I need rest. Real rest. Rest that halts the tumbling of thoughts and emotions that keep me up at night.
In Psalms 4:8 David writes, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” (NIV)
lie down and sleep in peace
A declaration of trust.
Who can lie down and sleep in peace when there are a million things running through your mind?
Not very often, but once in awhile I’ll get a full-blown anxiety attack, usually right when I go to bed at night. It creeps up on me, it gathers momentum during the day. All the little things that daylight dispels gather together and at night become a living, breathing monster.
Lie down…sleep…peace…are the words of the secure, the attitude of a surrendered heart.
for you alone, O Lord
Peace.
Self-help doesn’t help. Trying to control the situations that are out of my control just leads to more fear.
You alone, O Lord. Only you Jesus. No one else, nothing else. Only you Jesus, brings peace.
make me dwell in safety
Peace.
That’s where I want to live…in a safe place that the Lord has made for me.
The word dwell assumes on-going habitation. The Hebrew word implies a permanent residence or the place I reside.
Lord today I surrender my anxious heart. I want to dwell in your safety because there’s no more secure place for me than to be wrapped in the arms of your peace. Teach me to focus on you, on your love for me, your plan for my life and I ask that all the hard things I’m struggling with will be an avenue to share your love and goodness with others who may also be struggling.
reflect…
- What is troubling you that you need to surrender to the Lord?
- Where are you trying to find security, other than in the Lord?
- How will you dwell in safety today?
I absolutely LOVE your honesty, your heart and your transparency. I read your posts when I finally remember to look at my e-mails and I am so refreshed. I realize though that somehow maybe I am slipping in my walk with the Lord because of distractions and business of life. I immediately want to pick up my pace. Get back into Gods word and run this race called “life” for the glory of His kingdom. Thank you my friend for sharing your gift
xoxox love you Terryl!!! Thank you for sharing your heart in your comment…I love how the Lord uses the smallest of things like a little blog to encourage you to draw near to him. Press in and press on, I’m cheering for you!!