"i will give you rest"
11.8.2009 Tired.
It's the number one word I use to describe my state of being on a weekly basis. I think many others do to. And we all wish that it was different...we all hope to wake up the first time our alarm clock goes off without hitting snooze with abundant energy. But that rarely is the case. I've lived many of the days of my life physically, mentally, and/or emotionally tired.
At the end of this day, I find myself yet again with very little left to give. But this time, there's a beauty in the emptiness. As I reflect on the events that have filled the past 12 hours, I recognize that my need for rest is not caused by my own efforts to cling to that which I want to control. My weakness does not come from carrying my own burdens, for my work would then be in vain.
Rather, it comes from a constant pouring out and surrender of those very things. It is a testimony to my humanity, and the realization that God is asking me to let go of that which I value most, so that it may be for His glory instead of my own.
After surrender is rest. 1 John 3:16-20:
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
I want to end my days know that I have lived out the love that requires me to lay my life down for others. It will take everything in me to do so, but when I arrive in His presence ready to be filled again, the reward will be great. I have a God who knows my heart.
Amy |
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