Rest

I recently returned from a men's retreat and the main topic was finding rest in God.  It was very revealing to have the opportunity to analyze my life.  The question was asked:  "Where are you seeking rest and not finding it?"  For some it was work, money, success, things, addiction and all sorts of other things.  The idea was that we often try to find rest for our souls in things other than God which in turn leave us empty and even more restless.

For myself, it came to my attention that I am not finding rest for my soul; not because I'm seeking it in other things, but because I'm not seeking God.  I feel as though I am living in the epitome of passivity and I have given up my efforts in everything.  Work has become the least desirable thing to me simply because there is no fulfillment and often seems to be no future there.  When I'm at home, I'm so worn out from work I have no desire to do anything else.  This has caused relationships at home to be jeopardized.  There are times that life seems like nothing more than never-ending toil.

So what can we do in order to find rest from our toil?  I would venture to say that if I learned anything from the retreat it would be to seek God first (that's our initial effort) and as a result we will find the rest we are seeking in Him rather than other things.  It seems so simple, but somehow we make it so difficult.  Some might say, "You mean all I have to do is seek God and the rest will fall into place?"  Well, not exactly.  Yes, we should certainly seek God first and foremost but we should also seek to glorify Him in everything else.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

- Colossians 3:1-3 NIV

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

- 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV

Glorifying God first in everything is certainly not easy and we will fail in our pursuit of this.  It takes time, effort, determination, and discipline.  I don't think God will punish us when we don't seek Him; although it might seem that way.  We often seem to confuse a lack of blessings from God for punishment which is simply not true.  That is the vast difference between God blessing our obedience and not blessing our lack of obedience.

The great thing about seeking God is that we are not limited to one method.  There are a variety of ways by which to seek him.  What is important is that we are seeking Him with all of our heart regardless of the method.  Just as the prophet Jeremiah said during the Babylonian captivity:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

- Jeremiah 29:11-13

When we seek God with all of our heart in everything we will find the rest that many of us so desperately desire.  Perhaps all we have to do is look to Him and start pursuing.

From Here To Somewhere

Sometimes life has a way of confronting you with who you are.  It's a hodgepodge of past, present and future.  Who you were/were not, who you are/are not, and who you will/will not be.  The past can reveal a lot about who we are now and the only thing we can change is who we will become.  I've recently discovered a lot about myself.  Anyone who knows me (or at least tries to know me) knows that I'm very introverted and really don't give much attention to the world around me.  This has led me along a very dangerous road.

When we just let the world pass us by without any particular goals, dreams or destination not only are we hurting ourselves, but those we love.  For myself, I think it started when the things I used to be able to control got out of hand.  It was if I couldn't handle my life anymore.  This is just one of many examples of how life comes with it's ebbs and flows.  Sometimes we can manage and other times we either ask for help or we just let the waves smack us against the nearby cliffs.

I've let myself be tossed by the waves and I am shipwrecked.  I don't know where I am or where I'm going and I can only hope for the dawn of a new day.  My faith and determination are lacking and there seems to be no clear direction.  Self-confidence has all but disappeared and there is little encouragement to be found.  Echoes of faith-filled words surround me as I try to find their origin.  Do I move forward without direction or do I sit and wait?  My own passivity is what brought me here to begin with so I must move forward.  It is vital that I move even if I don't know where I'm going.

My heart longs to know the joy of life again.  I am lost, but I must move forward.  My hope is that there is more than I can see; that peace and joy can be found again.  There is truth in the notion that when we are brought low by our own doing we have more to gain than to lose.  I know in my heart that God will see me through and bring me to a place of true peace and joy again.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.  -Isaiah 46:4

Whittling Away

Today was definitely one of the best days I've had in a long time. It wasn't that any one great thing happened, but rather a collection of things that made it an overwhelmingly wonderful experience. Like any other Saturday, it started with my daughter waking me up so she could have some breakfast, I could have some coffee and mommy could sleep some more. For whatever reason it just continued to be a day of simple pleasures.

While my daughter ate her breakfast, I had some coffee and watched an episode of one of my shows. Soon after, my wife was awake and we decided to enjoy the nice weather in our backyard. I was walking around with my daughter, pushing her around in her car and watching her pretend sticks were swords with her saying, "on guard!" My wife decided she was going to paint a table we have out on our deck and I somehow ended up whittling a stick into a pipe. Why a pipe I have no idea, but it was just the first thing that came to me. We then came inside and had some lunch (well, most of us) and then I was on the couch again watching a documentary based on the book The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel while my daughter attempted to take a nap.

Aside from it taking nearly an hour for my daughter to fall asleep along with a lot of fussing, whining and "go to beds" I was able to watch this documentary and begin to examine the condition of my own faith. Although my awareness of where I am spiritually hasn't failed, my concern for it has. I have become caught up in a season of just not caring because there are so many other things that require my attention that my focus is no longer on God. Instead of seeing my life through His eyes, I am simply seeing the multitude of things in my life that, without God, seem to be too much to take on.

I guess today was a realization that simplicity does still exist, but we have to want it and just do it. Even more so everything in life can be simplified when we don't just take it all on ourselves to get through. Why is it so easy to forget the words that God gives us to help us in a world full of confusion, busyness, and the unrelenting demands that we put on ourselves. Matthew 11:29-30 states: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I think there's more to this passage than what we often think. It is not Christ saying follow me and you'll have it easy. I believe the key is that He says to learn from Him. Take upon ourselves the character of Christ and learn from Him. When we learn from Him and understand how to tackle the demands and trials of life through Him, we will find rest. Perhaps this is just one of the many ways in which we can recognize our need for Christ. In John 16:33b Christ tell us that "in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Here Christ shows us that we won't be without the hardships of life, but in Him we can find rest because He has overcome them.

It would be impossible for me to express how often I forget to simply turn to Jesus and allow Him to come in. If I simply ask for His help, He is right there with me fighting the battles with me. How incredible it is to know that we have a savior who, even after making the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, is still willing and desiring to fight with us and for us each and every step of the way. We make our lives so complicated, but simplicity is found in daily reaching out and grabbing hold to God's hand and letting Him show us that we will make it through.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

The amazing day that I had concluded spending some time with my in-laws watching the Thunder beat the Lakers and then reflecting on the day which led me to this post. I can't wait to see the amazing things that God has in store for for me and my family. God is good all the time. All the time, God is good.