As I look outside, I see the enormous tree in my backyard withered and fading. Not only have most of the leaves taken the great dive toward the frosty ground by this late October morning, but the branches are gnarly and twisted, bent and broken, overcrowding each other, like a bunch of teenagers at a Jonas Brother’s concert searching for space to breath from among the sweaty throng. Since I am untrained in examining trees and their health I would easily guess that this old tree is about to die, that perhaps even this winter, if it is nasty enough could push it over the edge. But I would more than likely be wrong.
That tree has probably stood in that yard for longer than my soon to be 93 year-old grandmother has scolded crows in her own backyard.
As I read from Hebrews today, I found that “it was fitting that God…should make the author of their (mankind) salvation perfect through suffering” [2.10].
I cannot imagine that if a tree had emotions relating to fun or not fun that it would find the winter very fun. It has been persevering for a long time through a lot of cold winters. But every spring its branches bud the new life of rejuvenation.
Out of pain comes good. So why do I fight the winter seasons of my life? What does the bear do? It accepts the fact that there is a winter season and responds rightly by hibernating. How am I supposed to respond to the winter seasons of my life? For some reason, I cannot believe that I am just supposed to lower my head and keep on trudging – though that may seem admirable, I think another word for it is stupid.
I could be wrong, but it seems to me that there is a reason we face winter seasons and seasons of spring when we are excited and rejuvenated, ready for whatever life may bring.
I could be wrong – what do you think – how should we as humans respond to the winter season?
sometimes you just need someone to tell you it’s alright.
“I’ll be your four-leaf clover,
I’ll be your pressure suit…”
sometimes someone does something or says something that I am totally not prepared for.
“…I’ll be your angel wings,
I’ll be your parachute…”
and I just want to explode.
“…I’ll be your running reason, I’ll be your only reason…”
I just exploded.
“…It’s alright, it’s alright.”
But it’s alright and it will be alright.
[great thanks to Aqualung for the kind words*]
*Aqualung’s “Pressure Suit” from the album Memory Man
asdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddsssaf.
___-___-___-___-___-___
iiiiiijjjjjuuuuussssstttttwwwwwaaaaannnnnttttttttttooooobbbbbeeeeefffffrrrrreeeee…..
i want life. love. pursuit. >< what happened? when? how? >< i don’t know. care. dare. >< i just will. do. it. >< keep me true. right. for you.
amen.
I’ve gotten caught up in some music lately; ergo the lack of writing. I’m finding that I do much better if I focus on one thing or the other and that focus seems to rotate between a couple of different things. Potentially there could be some new songs up on my space in the next week or two.
Just wanted to let you know, if you were curious; will continue with my exploration of rest when I come back around to it!
Rest: it means to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength. I do not know about you, but I know that I do not “rest” well. I sleep great at night, but that is probably because I go so long with out resting all the time. I am eager to find out the entirety of what the Bible has to say about rest, its importance for us, and how to do it.
The next mention of rest comes from 2 Chronicles 36, as the final king of Judah, Zedekiah, is dethroned by Nebuchadnezzar [I will be using the Message paraphrase]:
God, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent warning messages to them. Out of compassion for both his people and his Temple he wanted to give them every chance possible. But they wouldn’t listen; they poked fun at God’s messengers, despised the message itself, and in general treated the prophets like idiots. God became more and more angry until there was no turning back – God called in Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who came and killed indiscriminately – and right in The Temple itself; it was a ruthless massacre: young men and virgins, the elderly and weak – they were all the same to him… Any survivor was taken prisoner into exile in Babylon and made a slave to Nebuchadnezzar and his family. The exile and slavery lasted until the kingdom of Persia took over. 21 This is exactly the message of God that Jeremiah had preached: the desolate land put to an extended sabbath rest, a seventy-year Sabbath rest making up for all the unkept Sabbaths. [v. 15-17, 20, 21]
Zedekiah, the king of Judah, is described as, “just one more evil king” [v.12]. This attitude and rebellion spread throughout the rest of the leaders and people until anarchy reigned and the Lord called in Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon to reek havoc on the people as punishment for their evil ways.
A few days ago I talked about the power of understanding that in God’s goodness sometimes he takes things away from us. This is for our own good because, left to our own devices, we ruin ourselves. Years and years earlier, Joshua warned the people to stay away from the debauchery and sins of the other nations. Over time, most of the kings of Israel and Judah adopted the ways of other nations, worshiping other gods and selling themselves to the ways of other people. These were the very things that Joshua warned them about; in the midst of the “rest” that Israel and Judah had been given, they relaxed their standards and methods of living, allowing for a departure from the things of God. In that process, they abandoned many of the laws of God, including the importance of the Sabbath. As they let that one slide their lives reflected it; the nation of Israel became two separate nations, the people abused their relationships with one another, and they forgot that God, their God, was the one true God – the one who brought them out of slavery and into the Promised Land. As a result, God ruined everything – he took away from them, the very thing he had given them. And it was not as if he did not give them time – hundreds and hundreds of years passed by before he removed the Israelite’s from their place of freedom and rest. He allowed his promised resting place to rest from the torture that was allowed on it for all of those years. 70 years the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon. A lifetime!
It is really easy to depend on grace every day. You screw up, I mess up, and we have learned to say, “It’s ok; God forgives me.” He certainly does, but to continue in sin and evil living is like spitting in the face of God. And God, though he loves us, is not afraid to take from us the life we have forged in “freedom” in order to prove that his way is better, that his life is greater than anything we can bring about ourselves.
This is what a solid fear of the Lord is: understanding that he is in complete control and has greater power than we can fathom. When we properly fear the Lord, as the God of the universe and not just a hand puppet who sits idly by, we prove that we respect him more than ourselves.
How would your life be different if you understood that God could take it away from you at any moment?
Sad to say, my life would be drastically different.
Rest: it means to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength. I do not know about you, but I know that I do not “rest” well. I sleep great at night, but that is probably because I go so long with out resting all the time. I am eager to find out the entirety of what the Bible has to say about rest, its importance for us, and how to do it.
The next mention of rest comes from 2 Chronicles 14, as the life of Asa, king of Judah, is described [I will be using the Message paraphrase]:
[Asa] told Judah to center their lives in God, the God of their fathers, to do what the law said, and to follow the commandments. Because he got rid of all the pagan shrines and altars in the cities of Judah, his kingdom was at peace. Because the land was quiet and there was no war, he was able to build up a good defense system in Judah. God kept the peace. Asa said to his people, “While we have the chance and the land is quiet, let’s build a solid defense system, fortifying our cities with walls, towers, gates, and bars. We have this peaceful land because we sought God; he has given us rest from all troubles.” So they built and enjoyed prosperity. [v. 4-7]
The history of Israelite and Judean kings is quite colorful; after David and Solomon came many kings who were evil in their leadership of the people of God. Every so often, though, you find a king like Asa who came and tore down all of the idolatry that had been set in place by prior kings. Nearly every time that happened, peace reigned in the kingdom. In Asa’s case, as he got rid of all the pagan worship and altars in Judah, his kingdom was bathed in peace. And this was because he knew the most important thing, just as Joshua had warned hundreds of years earlier, “Center your life on God; follow the law.” Asa knew that God was the most important thing and obedience to God would prove gracious as they went about their lives.
Is your life in turmoil? I know that mine can quickly spin out of control – though I try to find peace and rest, if I am not whole heartedly pursuing the Lord, striving to be obedient and confessing when I am not, my world falls apart. It is in those moments that I am working for myself, trying to prove that I have what it takes to keep it together, get the rest I need, and do what I need to provide for me and my family. My world becomes self-focused.
In an episode of House the other night, House was in a mental institution and was not being released until he got “fixed.” Nearly the whole time he was there though, he did everything he could to manipulate situations and change people around him. In that process he did more damage to people and their lives than good. While he was trying to fix others he continued to ignore the pain that he felt in his own life. But in one moment he reaches out to another, apologizing for something he did, not for the other person’s benefit, but for his own. In that moment everything changed. His heart did a complete turn around and he experienced the emotions that he had been hiding; he, finally, addressed himself through relationship with another person.
This is the problem: we know we are one giant problem and we try to fix everything around us to make ourselves feel better. We try to make more money, we try to prove that we are capable of functioning as we are. But the moment we take our eyes off ourselves and discover that there is a loving God who has already done whatever it takes to set us right. It is in that moment that we are “fixed;” though he has already fixed us, we discover that his grace and love is what we need to make it through each day.
“We have this peaceful land because we sought God.”
Where are you at in your pursuit of God? Stop and pursue him, right now, not later today, not tomorrow, not in five years when you’ve accomplished what you think you need to accomplish. Pursue him now.
Rest: it means to cease work or movement in order to relax, refresh oneself, or recover strength. I do not know about you, but I know that I do not “rest” well. I sleep great at night, but that is probably because I go so long with out resting all the time. I am eager to find out the entirety of what the Bible has to say about rest, its importance for us, and how to do it.
The next mention of rest comes from 1 Chronicles 22, David shares with his son Solomon what the Lord has spoken about his life [I will be using the Message paraphrase]:
David said to Solomon, “I wanted in the worst way to build a sanctuary to honor my God. But God prevented me, saying, ‘You’ve killed too many people, fought too many wars. You are not the one to honor me by building a sanctuary – you’ve been responsible for too much killing, too much bloodshed. But you are going to have a son and he will be a quiet and peaceful man, and I will calm his enemies down on all sides. His very name will speak peace – that is, Solomon, which means Peace – and I’ll give peace and rest under his rule. [v. 7-9]
One thing that is synonymous with rest is a sense of safety. A place of refuge is generally viewed as a resting place. One thing my wife strives to do in our home is create a safe place, a warm place, a sanctuary of sorts. This was obviously a very important thing to the Lord, so important that, though David was certainly worthy as a king, the Lord chose Solomon, who was to be a man of peace and not war, to build his sanctuary among the people.
With Solomon’s peaceful demeanor would come the Lord’s hand of rest and refuge for the Israelites. Throughout Solomon’s reign, the Israelites, thanks to David’s efforts, would be in peace because of their power and prosperity. Solomon, the wisest to ever live on this earth, orchestrated that with his administration.
Our world is in constant turmoil; president upon president of our great nation promise peace and safety for us – yet as we turn from one side of the world to the other we find ourselves engaged in war or disparity. On one hand, we engage in these wars to prove our power and make a statement that we will ensure our safety. On the other hand, though, we only continue our embattlement, ensuring that our safety is always a bomb’s drop away from being shredded from our daily lives.
For a long while, I believed war was an ok thing – you need not look far in the Old Testament to see the multitudes of slaying; from Sodom and Gomorrah, to Joshua, to Samson and David, the Israelites were consistently involved in war. But the Lord proves that peace, not war, is his method of proving his love for us. He would not allow David, as great of a king as he was, as devoted to the Lord as he was, to build his place of sanctuary. It meant more to him to have a man of peace establish the Lord’s permanent place of rest and peace among the Israelites.
The question that comes to my mind is, “Am I a man of peace?” Do I prove time and again that in the heat of the moment I will love and be a peacemaker? Jesus tells us: “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family” [Matthew 5.9].
God’s family – God’s children are peacemakers. In that peace comes rest, a refuge from the turmoil of this world.
Are you a peacemaker?
