Psalm 91

Psalm 91;1

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

There is a whole lot in Scripture about "resting".

I'm all for resting. It is good not only for the body, but the mind and the spirit.

Resting is a time of ceasing from what the Bible calls "our striving".

Seems as though in today's society, there is a whole lot of striving going on.

In fact, some view people who rest as some kind of weird.

Yet we are called to rest in the Shadow of the Almighty.

I like that picture.................being in the shadows.

To me I see that as God standing me, and me kind of hiding in Him.

Have you ever seen a little child who gets embarrassed? Or one who is shy. They'll get behind their Mother or Father and kind of hide.....peeking out at times from behind to see if you're looking at the them. That is how I picture hiding in God. I get behind Him. Getting behind God is the rule of thumb for proper behavior and attitude in His Kingdom.

In a time when self-promotion is the name of the game, God has no use for such foolishness. Imagine going to the local book store in Jerusalem back in the day. You walk through the doors and there displayed at the very front entrance is a rack of scrolls....you see the words..."NEW~ The latest insight from Jeremiah, prophet to the Almighty God."  There are endorsements from Jeremiah's contemporaries of the day...."He truly does speak the Word of God." Or how about..."He will unlock the door to your destiny!" Never mind that the destiny of Jeremiah's day was exile and captivity. I know that I've exaggerated this example, but the truth that I kind of hold on to is that when we rest in God, it really isn't about us, it's about Him.

Jesus, in Matthew 11: 28 extends the ultimate invitation to a sin sick world.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

What does this mean? What does this really mean? It is an invitation to rest. To quit "doing" in your own strength. One of the things that someone coming out of addiction wrestles with is the idea of having to do this recovery thing on their own. Trying to accomplish it through sheer will power, when, in fact, the Twelve Steps calls for a total surrender of life and will over to the care of God. By doing this, I can rest in Christ. He takes the weariness of my struggle not only with addiction, but life itself and gives me rest. He relieves me of the burden of my addiction, taking the weight of it off my mind and my shoulders and gives me rest.
This isn't some sort of religious concept..........

It is hard-core-to-the-bone truth that you can take to the bank.

Think of it this way....
God is calling us to trade in our sin-sick, broken lives....with all our problems......with all our heartache......with all the misery and toil and trouble.........and receive from Him the gift of divine, heavenly rest. Laying down upon sheets that bring peace, I can let my mind cease from the endless chasing of the wind. I can turn my thoughts and my heart to this God who loves me more than I can comprehend or understand. That sounds like a good deal.

How tired are you this morning?
Why not work Steps # 1, 2 and 3.
Enter into your rest with Jesus.
Hide yourself and dwell in the shadow of the Almighty.

God on you today!

mb