Have you ever heard old the old fashioned phrase, 'wore to a frazzle' or 'plum tuckered out'? Both of those phrases mean someone is completely exhausted - physically, mentally, and spiritually. Everyone has known someone completely overworked and overwhelmed by events and the speed at which their lives were progressing. Chances are, YOU are the one who is 'plum tuckered out' as well as 'wore to a frazzle'. If that doesn't describe you today, I can almost guarantee that it will describe you tomorrow - or the day after that. Fortunately, God knew in advance that His children would be susceptible to fatigue and weariness. So, He made provisions for rest.
Genesis 2:2 tells us, "And on the seventh day God ended his work which He had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made."
Sweets Game
I have been taught from my childhood that that means we are to spend a day drawing closer to the Lord. The Old Testament is under the law. Man worked first, and rested on the seventh day. Most people believe that the New Testament begins the week with rest through the grace of Jesus Christ, and that we work for Him the rest of the week because we love Him. That is why I go to church on Sunday instead of Saturday. Some churches, such as the Seven Day Baptist, hold church services on Saturday. Regardless of which day you attend church, rest begins with a day that is different from other days. The focus of that day should be drawing closer to the Lord. This includes physical and mental rest. Just try to feed the spirit on the day of worship.
I know that a lot of things still have to be done on Sunday just the same as any other day. Try to make it as easy on yourself and your family as possible. God knows the heart. Something I am trying to do is set aside my problems on both Saturday and Sunday and make the focus of my prayers thankfulness to God on those days.
It is good to continue the 'rest' of the Lord's Day as you go through the week. Moses tells us how it is done - you may leave the place of worship - but let God lead the way!
Moses had been in the tabernacle with the Lord during a stop in wilderness. He asked God to show him the way to go.
God answered him in Exodus 33:14 which says, "And he said, 'My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest."
How could you get a better promise than that? God had just told Moses that His presence would go with Moses, and He would give Moses rest. I really like this because God gave Moses more than he asked for. He gave Moses rest as well as His presence.
I don't know what Moses was thinking in the next verse, but it sounds like he was clarifying that God's presence would remain with him once he left the tabernacle because Moses says, " and he said unto him, 'if thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.'"
Moses didn't want to leave the tabernacle until he was certain that God would go with him. He said - look - if you aren't going with me - don't even let me go anywhere. I'll just sit here until we come up with a new game plan.
Christians often become impatient and decide not to wait on God. They see something that they perceive as needing immediate attention. Maybe they take the time to pray about it - maybe they don't. But in the end - they rush off to solve the problem WITHOUT God going with them. The end result of such impatient Christianity is a mere social gospel. Not waiting to be sure God is going with you on even a small endeavor is to be assured of disaster. The greater the matter undertaken without God's presence - the greater the size of the disaster or defeat will be. Besides the fact that whatever you do without God is doomed to failure - you will be just plain miserable. You will also be 'wore to a frazzle' and 'plum tuckered out'.
Besides a day to rest, and the rest obtained through God's presence and direction, God also gives us the rest of peace.
I Chronicles 22:18 tells us, "Is not the Lord your God with you? And hath he not given you rest on every side? For he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people."
The enemies circled around Israel were defeated by the hand of the Lord, and even the land itself was subdued before the Lord. Then the people were instructed to "set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God". (v 19).
That is the key to both personal and national victory. We should all set our hearts and souls to seek the Lord our God. It is God who is willing and able to defend us. If we seek Him we will find Him. In modern English the mindset of Moses might be stated something like - "Lord - if you ain't going with me - I ain't going no where'.
Unfortunately, this is not the way Christians usually act. But God gives us instructions on what to do after his people have strayed away from Him and His rest. Jeremiah 6:16 tells us:
'Thus saith the Lord, 'stand ye in the old ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.' But they said, 'We will not walk therein.'
This is very important. God told them what to do. Return to the old ways. In our day that means things like accepting the literal interpretation of the Bible; acknowledging that God's word is without error; and following the commandments given to us in the Bible. Obedience to the commandments doesn't provide entrance to heaven, but obedience DOES save us from a lot of trouble, AND gives eternal success.
God offered the people a reward for obeying His instructions. He offered them 'rest for their souls'.
But the people refused to walk in the old ways and the old paths. Verse 20 tells us that instead they gave the Lord burnt offerings and sacrifices. But God knew their hearts. He refused their offerings and disaster came to the land. It appears that today in the United States there is a growing number of churches and their congregations that are doing the same thing. They have refused to stand in the old ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein. As a result - rest for the soul is forfeited.
Rest to the people was also offered and rejected in Isaiah 30:15, which says, " For thus saith the Lord God, 'the Holy one of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; and ye would not."
The people of that day were afraid of an advancing army. They made an alliance with Egypt instead of relying on the Lord. The end result was disaster. That is really where Israel is today. She is trying to appease the world thinking the world will save her from the armies of Islam. The end result will be disaster. The requirement both then and now is simply to return to the Lord and rest in Him.
It makes no more sense today than it did in Isaiah's day to form an alliance with those who hate you. This means that alliances with the armies of those sworn to destroy the United States and all Christians will also lead to disaster. Friends - it looks like our goose is cooked!" UNLESS........
We follow the instructions in Isaiah 30:15. We need to first RETURN TO THE LORD. This has to be a true return to the Lord that involves heartfelt repentance. Then, REST IN THE LORD. It appears that the battles raging in our homes, our churches, our nation, and the world can no longer be won by the arm of flesh. Truthfully, they never were won by the arm of flesh, but it appeared so. Today it appears that there is no military power on earth that can subdue our enemies. There are just too many of them. God is making it clear that the arm of flesh will fail us, and that the time has come to return to the Lord and rest in Him. The greater the battle the greater the need for rest!!! Our goal should be to rely on the Lord so completely that resting from worry is normal.
This is a call to all Christians to take the opportunity today to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. To rest in the Lord doesn't mean to go take a nap. It means to study and believe His word so completely that by faith you SEE and BELIEVE He WILL help you.
Why not determine right now that YOU will begin a new life spent resting in the Lord? It sounds funny to say this, but resting in the Lord is work! But no matter how hard it may be, a life spent resting in the Lord is much easier AND more successful than a life spent trying to fight your battles yourself.
Don't delay. Hebrews chapter 4 tells us of the rest God offers, but there is a time limit. Don't harden your heart and refuse to seek God's rest. The offer of rest may be withdrawn.
"What difference can one person make?" you might ask. With the world in so much turmoil, it might appear that God will not help us. Never the less, there is hope and help for both the individual and the nation.
Keep in mind that God does not need an army of warriors to save the day. In I Samuel chapter 14, we are told the story of Jonathan and his armor bearer, and how these two defeated the Philistine army.
Jonathan left the army of his father, King Saul, and went with his armor bearer to check out the garrison of the Philistines. In verse 6 Jonathan says to his armor bearer, "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us; for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few."
Now the armor bearer replies, "Do all that is in thine heart; turn thee, behold I am with thee according to thy heart."
There are at least two magnificent lessons from these passages. First, Jonathan knew the Lord didn't need a mighty army to defeat a foe. He knew the Lord could use just two men to defeat an entire army. Second, the armor bearer was unquestionably a man of great valor. But his reason for going on what appeared to be a suicide mission was not his personal bravery. He went to follow his leader. The lesson I get from that is that even if you are the first one to begin a work, someone will rise up to follow you into battle - just like Jonathan's armor bearer followed Jonathan.
The story continues that Jonathan and his armor bearer attacked the Philistines. Jonathan slew to the front, and the armor bearer slew to the rear. They killed about twenty men over half an acre of land.
Then there was a great earthquake and the Philistines started beating down one another.
Jonathan did not win this battle against such odds by his own strength. He knew from the start that victory was through God. And he knew that God could use two men or ten thousand men. His faith in God was not a 'psyche your self up' 'mind over matter' faith. It was rock solid, based on what God had done for Israel in the past, and what He had promised to do in the future.
What do we know about the Lord that might help in our quest for rest?
We KNOW God will save all who ask Him. Believers have a sure future guaranteed in heaven with God. So Christian, you don't have to worry about your life after death. Just rest in the Lord.
We KNOW that God has aligned Himself eternally with the nation of Israel. So we know that Israel will not be driven into the sea. So Christian, don't worry that the only stable nation in the Middle East will be destroyed or taken captive. So you can rest in the Lord.
We KNOW that God promised a blessing for those that bless Israel and a cursing for those who curse her. So Christian, don't worry about which side is in the right in the Middle East Crises. God has chosen Israel. To be on God's side is always to be on the right side. To be on the right side AND the winning side, be on Israel's side. Don't worry about it - rest in the Lord.
We KNOW that God said in I John 3:20, "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart." Good news Christian - God is greater than how you feel. He will do what He said he would do whether you 'feel' like He will or not. Rest in the Lord.
For our personal lives and problems, God also has a plan. You can look at prayers God has answered in your past. A common mistake is to think that because God has blessed you mightily in the past that He won't do it again. That is the same mistake the children of Israel made while wandering in the desert. God had done all those miracles to bring them out of Egypt. Then He continued to show miracle after miracle as they wandered through the wilderness. But each time they were surprised that He had saved them again. The end result was they all died in the wilderness and never entered in God's rest. Don't let that happen to you. Believe God will help you - again - and again - and again. Rest in the Lord.
Another mistake is to believe that God won't help you because He hasn't helped you in the past, or didn't answer a specific prayer. God will help you according to His plan for your life. Rest in Him and wait patiently. No matter how trying the circumstance may be, you cannot solve the problem on your own. Rest in the Lord.
A better relationship with God is the key to fighting and winning what ever battles you may be facing. God can change the course of one person's life like He did with the apostle Paul. And with that one life changed, He can change the course of a nation and the world. If you want to think a little smaller than changing the world, God can also change the course of one family for the better.
Now is the time to begin studying and praying to know God well enough to believe Him like Jonathan did when he fought the Philistines. What the future holds for any of us cannot be known. But we can know that we will pass through whatever trials we face more easily if we have drawn closer to God, and already begun to rest in Him.
The song for this article is "The Haven of Rest". PS - this is the longest article I ever wrote! Boy am I tired!
Haven of Rest
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/a/v/havenres.htm
My soul in sad exile was out on life's sea,
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice, saying,
"Make Me your choice";
And I entered the Haven of Rest!
Refrain
I've anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest,
I'll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep over wild, stormy, deep,
In Jesus I'm safe evermore.
I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
In faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The Haven of Rest is my Lord.
Refrain.
The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus, Who'll save whosoever will have
A home in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain
How precious the thought that we all may recline,
Like John, the belovèd so blest,
On Jesus' strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the Haven of Rest.
Refrain
O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And say, "My Belovèd is mine."
Refrain
The Doorway towards the Haven of RelaxationTVXQ! 동방신기_Catch Me_Music Video Tube. Duration : 4.95 Mins.TVXQ! new album 'Catch Me' to be released on September 24th at noon (Seoul Time) through various music websites! ♪ Download on iTunes : itunes.apple.com ☞ For more Information : tvxq.smtown.com ☞ Facebook TVXQ! : www.facebook.com ☞ Facebook SMTOWN : www.facebook.com ☞ TVXQ! Official YouTube Channel : www.youtube.com ☞ SMTOWN Official YouTube Channel : www.youtube.com ♬ TVXQ! 동방신기_Catch Me_Music Video ℗ SMEntertainment
Tags:
Recommend : 1500 Cash Advance
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น