the Faint-hearted
Rest isn't for
by: Julie Cloninger, HFL Team
30
Resting isn’t for the faint of heart. Maybe distracting is or dissociating. But true rest? It takes courage and intention, barriers and structure.
Sometimes resting is waiting. The hardest waiting is waiting on God. Waiting on God to change situations, waiting on God to redeem relationships, waiting on God to convict wrong doing… the list goes on. And honestly, sometimes the waiting is waiting on God to bring change to our own hearts, minds, and bodies. We can set our intentions and take our baby steps, but change doesn’t happen immediately. I got a text from someone close to me just last week saying, “I have been doing my weight bearing exercises and the scale hasn’t moved at all!”
She was frustrated because she had been faithful for 2 weeks to lift weights but had not seen any change. I don’t belittle this frustration because I know it well. If we’re honest, aren’t we all waiting on something to change? When will I be able to… or when will my children … or when will my spouse…or what about the friend or co-worker who…
So how can we rest? There is so much to do and so much to think about and plan for. Real threats and imagined threats bombard us from every side. What does it look like to have courage and intention, boundaries and structure?
Let’s meditate on this scripture from Isaiah 30:15-16, 18.
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.
You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’
Therefore you will flee!
You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’
Therefore your pursuers will be swift!
A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.”
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!"
“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it."
In the passages from Isaiah, the Israelites were taking courage from their horses. God yearned to take care of them in a different way. They didn’t take the time to quiet themselves and listen to him. They just assumed a military response to a military threat. It is a fair assumption, except God wasn’t in it. It takes great courage to see the threats, the work, the pain, the needs, and still rest, repent, quiet, and trust God’s goodness and concern.