Today was one of those days I know I will never forget.
It was an amazing message from our pastor that started
things off for me - here's a little introspection...
He talked about having "rest" or "peace." His portion of
scripture that he drew from was Hebrews 4. My pastor
said something so profound, he said "our circumstances
should not affect whether we have rest." Our foundation
is secure - so when the winds and waves of life happen -
we should not be moved - we should not be shaken.
We should remain at peace in the midst of it all... This
reminds me of the passage of scripture when Jesus is in
the boat w/the disciples, and there is a huge storm. The
disciples are freaking out - and honestly just losing it.
All the while, the creator of the universe is sleeping
soundly at the back of the boat - not a care in the
world. He's not worried!!! The disciples wake him
up and say:
“Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”He replied,
“You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and
the waves, and it was completely calm." (Matthew 8:24-25)
I want that kind of peace - that kind of rest. The kind
that when my circumstances are raging around me -
I can sleep through the night knowing that I serve the
God of the universe and there is nothing that He can't
do! And there's nothing that I could do that would
make him love me less...
**Here's the part that will stick in my memory forever...**
In our Sunday School class - right after church service - we
continued on with our discussion of our Pastor's sermon on
rest and peace.
Across the room from me was a married couple,
the husband wheelchair bound, living his last
days of this life - dying from Parkinson's Disease.
His only daughter is getting married in 5 weeks, and
he is literally "hanging on" to this life so that he can
be there to walk her down the aisle. When asked
"how can we be praying for you two?" they looked at
each other and said "we're actually doing really good!"
His wife said, "you know he is digressing quite a bit..."
and he interrupted her saying
"no, I'm not digressing... I'm progressing!"
Wheelchair bound, soon to have a feeding tube put in,
not able to sleep at night because of the complications
of his disease, and here was this man - giving glory to his
God for the joy that he has each day to live out the end
of his life looking forward to what lies ahead.
This hit me between the eyes.
What a testament of faith.
Looking into my heart - my circumstances - my trials -
my "boat moments" in the midst of life's raging storms...
I hope that from now on I will be able to say, with joy
overflowing, "I am not digressing in this life - I am
progressing or running to the finish line with arms open
wide to my sweet Savior."
Where are you with peace? Where are you with His rest?
Are you able to look at all that surrounds you and say that
He is your peace? That He is giving you rest? You know the
really cool thing? He's OK with you crying out to him
to calm the winds and the waves that threaten to over
take you! At the end of the chapter of Hebrews 4, verse
16 it says:
"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with
confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need."
My need is never too great that he doesn't either already
know it - or hasn't already answered it. I hope that you are
encouraged in your faith today - no matter what your
circumstances - God is able to give you "rest" and "peace"
in Him today.
