Green Pastures and Still Waters
We all go through rough times. Times of stress, loss, heath fears, financial fears and many other types of stress. We all handle it in different ways. Some bottle it up and say very little. Others tell anyone who will listen. Some indulge in eating and others exercise. Some go on shopping sprees while others retreat into places of comfort.
God is faithful though and carries us through those times. Sometimes we think that He is not walking with us and then when we get on the other side we realize he has been with us all the time. Sometimes we think that the dark valley will never end and other times we are through it before we know it.
Regardless what period of stress we go through we come through the valley and on the other side is a place of peace and rest. God plans it that way. And just as he walks with us through the valley he walks with us beside the green pastures and still waters. He wants us to have these times of peace and comfort. We need these times. We need them to refresh ourselves and to get ready to minister to others. We cant minister to others if our tank is empty. If we are always running and living in the pace of society we will soon empty our tank and then we find it difficult to minister to others. We become irritable when we have have to minister to another individual who needs help. We dread answering the phone or text or email. We don't want to respond and we lose our enthusiasm for helping others. We feel drained and run down. We feel like we have little to give and often we dont have much to offer.
The good news is that the God who leads us through the valley is also the God who wants to hold our hand and draw us into the green pastures and besides the peaceful waters. But so often we dont feel like we should to be there. Didn't Christ call us to deny ourselves and that we are to take up our cross and follow Him. So how can we take a time of rest when there are so many in need. After all there are so many hurting. Their voices keep calling and the needs are great. So we forfeit the times of rest and push on.
But when we do this we suffer and those around us suffer. Often our families.
So when God leads us into these times of rest. TAKE IT! Don’t feel guilty and enjoy it with all your heart. Don’t let others pull you out that time of rest. Only let God’s hand lead you back into the work. There are times of learning in those times of peace. Sometimes we are to “be still and know that he is God.” Jesus often “withdrew to lonely places to pray.” Sometimes we just need the rest! God rested on the seventh day and commanded us to do the same. He made our bodies so that they needed physical, emotional, and mental rest. So don’t feel guilty when God places you in a period of rest. Soak it up. Enjoy it. Rest in it. He is using that time to grow you just as He uses times of trials to help us be more like Christ.
These times of rest will be different for different people. After a tough week, I’m in my office with only the light of the computer glowing. Soft music is playing and I have a cup of coffee close at hand. For me this is my time of rest. Other times I will find my time of rest walking through a graveyard that contains only the bodies, and not the spirits, of friends and relatives that I love so dear. Memories flood in and take me back to a simpler time. Other times I will walk on the ranch my dad leases. There I talk out loud with God and enjoy uninterrupted fellowship with Him.
For others it may be a good book, shopping, spending time with family, or going for a drive in a country. Or maybe a mini vacation, or a night at your favorite restaurant. Regardless, when you sense that God is leading you out of the work and into that place of rest, dont resist. Let Him refresh you and renew you. Go with Him and rest fully in His presence and His love.
