He will give you rest

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28


I don't know about you but I am tired. No, let me rephrase that I am exhausted. Since I have been sick, my body is still a little physically exhausted. However, right now I am emotionally exhausted. One of the gals at our Bible Study this week was talking about coming to that place of peace when we realize that we are not perfect. How do we find that place of rest? That keeps rolling through my head.

When we were on vacation in January I got up at about 4:00 am Hawaii time (it was 8:00 am here). All was quiet around the resort. I grabbed my I-pod, my bible and my journal and I headed out to the balcony. I just sat there for awhile listening to the waves crash and watching the full moon radiant above the water. I was completely at peace. I love the ocean. The vastness of it and the power that it has, and the beauty.

I always long to find that peace at home, but it is never quite the same. And since I live almost as far away from the ocean as I possibly could. . .I have to figure out how to find that peace without buying a plane ticket. (My hubby says I have to put a hold on the travel plans for awhile). So where can I go to find this peace?

Jesus says, "Come to me". Meditate on that phrase for a bit. When I can take the time to sit down and spend quiet time with God I can find that peace. He can refill me and restore me. But I think it goes much deeper than quiet time with God and spending time in beautiful places. I think it is about finding peace with ourselves and with who we are. We work so hard at finding peace with ourselves and our surroundings that we create chaos not peace.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. Psalm 62:1

I often have to remind myself to slow down and rest in the peace that God alone can provide. It is hard to get away from the busyness of life. On the seventh day of creation God rested. When was the last time you gave yourself permission to rest? I am not talking about sitting on the couch and wasting away a day. I am talking about being at peace in your soul. Being happy with the person God created you to be. Being yourself and not this person you think everyone else wants you to be. Because after awhile we get so lost in the person we think we are supposed to be that we forget who we really are.

Take some time today to sit down and reflect on what it feels like to be at peace. What does that look like to you? Go to God and ask Him to restore you and refill you.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1Peter 5:10