Resting in God

This past Sunday, my women’s group discussed what it means to rest in the Lord. It is a topic that means a lot to me because I am a terrible rester. I have a constant to do list running through my mind (and on notepads throughout the house!) and have trouble slowing down. George often begs me to rest and tries to help, but I many times I just keep going. A lot of times the end result is a burned out, stressed out, frustrated, grouchy Stacie.

I know I am like this and have been for a long time. I remember wearing myself out in Sudan to the point of getting sick. I believe God allowed me to be sick so I would learn to slow down and rest in Him. I am not trying to brag and say I am this awesome worker. I’m good at some things, but not at others. The point is, I often focus on details that don’t matter in the grand scheme of things and forget to rest in the Lord. I get all worked up for what… dishes? Emails? Sweeping? I relate very much to the story of Mary and Martha. I am a Martha and I need to be more of a Mary.

The ladies and I read that story and discussed what is really important. It’s spending time at the Lord’s feet. I shared with them my struggles and strategized with them how to make it happen. These women work so hard and I know they must be exhausted and overwhelmed at times. Even Jesus took time out alone to pray and spend time with God. Since He is our ultimate example, then we better take note and do this too.

I was sent a devotional book called Jesus Lives. It is written as if Jesus is talking to you. It takes inspiration from the scripture and puts it in away that pierces the heart. Some days it really does feel like Jesus is talking to me. It has a variety of topics and one that I found especially meaningful was “resting in the Lord.” During our class I had the women close their eyes as I read a couple and asked them to imagine it was the Lord, encouraging them to seek Him for their peace and strength. I hope it touched their hearts as it did mine. I challenged them to take time out this week to seek refuge in God and draw close to Him when things seem unmanageable. I am looking forward to next week to see if they were able to do this and hear how it impacted their lives.