Rest for the weary | HOPE & LIGHT

Have you been feeling restless because of the current circumstances we are walking through? Are you longing for the lifestyle changes due to the coronavirus outbreak to be behind us so we can get back to life as usual? These thoughts have definitely crossed my mind several times recently.

Unfortunately, it looks like the “new normal” we’ve been living with the past few weeks will not be going away anytime soon. So how do we overcome the feelings of restlessness that only steal our peace and joy and live a God-pleasing life during the coming weeks or months? How do we walk in peace and contentment as we move forward in this season?

This is what was on my mind as I sat down to spend some time this morning being quiet before the Lord. I was asking God to show me His purposes during this time unlike anything any of us have faced before. His answer was not one I was expecting.

The following words came to my mind, “You are loved with an everlasting love. And underneath are the everlasting arms.” I recognized this as the signature line for Elisabeth Elliot’s daily radio program, something I hadn’t heard since she passed away in 2015.

EVERLASTING LOVE
In Jeremiah 31:3, we learn that the Lord loved Israel with an everlasting love, a love that was constant and unconditional. That love was seen in His continued faithfulness to His rebellious and idolatrous people. God used the imagery of a green and fruitful olive tree as a symbol of the covenant relationship He has with Israel. (Jeremiah 11:16)

God’s heart toward His chosen people hasn’t changed. But one thing has changed. God’s chosen people still includes the offspring of Abraham, the Jewish people, but as Christians we also are included among His chosen, in those upon whom He pours out His everlasting love. Galatians 3:29 says, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” We have been grafted in and we “now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.” (Romans 11:17)

HELD IN HIS EVERLASTING ARMS
‭Deuteronomy 33:27 says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms…”

The Bible in Basic English says it this way, “The God of your fathers is your safe resting-place, and under you are his eternal arms…”

The message I heard from the Lord this morning is simple. Though we are in a season of “social distancing” we are not alone. God is holding us in His everlasting arms, which have the strength to hold us safely even in the strongest storm.

Elisabeth Elliot wrote,‭‭‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬ “Restlessness and impatience change nothing except our peace and joy. Peace does not dwell in outward things, but in the heart prepared to wait trustfully and quietly on Him who has all things safely in His hands.”

Today, I want to encourage you to draw close to the Prince of Peace, to our Savior Jesus Christ. Rest quietly in the presence and everlasting love of the Lord, and to wait trustfully in the truth that we are safe in His hands. He truly is our resting place in this storm.

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As each year nears an end, I come to the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer, asking Him what One Word He would have me focus on in the coming year. As we moved toward 2020, I clearly heard God’s voice. The word was ABIDE.

For the month of January, I will be doing blog posts at least a few times a week as I go through a devotional book by Andrew Murray. Today’s devotional in Abide in Christ: A 31-Day Devotional For Fellowship with Jesus begins with two very familiar Scriptures. The first is found in Matthew 11:28.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”‭‭

To those who have heard and responded to this call to Come, a new invitation has been given. This invitation is the call to not just come, but to go deeper, to draw closer to our Savior. It is found in John 15:4.

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.

Andrew Murray says all the blessings that are connected with the call to “Come” are only to be enjoyed as we enter into close fellowship with Jesus. Jesus is saying, “Come to me to stay with me.”‭‭

Jesus has prepared for you “an abiding dwelling with Himself,” where we live not just for a short time as we have our morning quiet time but every moment of the day in the presence of our Savior and Lord. As we go about our daily lives, doing our daily work, His desire is that we would enjoy unbroken communion with Him.

We are to run to His open arms, receive His welcome, and remain there as He opens up all His life and love to us. We are to live daily in the truth that NOTHING can separate us from His love.

My prayer as you and I begin 2020 is that this will be a year of abiding in Christ, of continual communion with the One who loves us so much that He was willing to lay down His life to make a way for us to be forgiven and restored to relationship with our heavenly Father.

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