(This message is also available at: http://pastorjimdorton.blogspot.com/)
"I am so weak. I can't read my Bible. I can't even pray.
I can only lie still in God's arms like a little child and trust."
Hudson Taylor
Often, when one has been through some sort of surgical procedure, it is followed by a period of rest and recuperation, then rehab and therapy.
Let’s talks about rest first.
God gave us the gift of rest and called it “Sabbath”.
In Mark 2:27 Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man.” The church folks of that time had gotten so wrapped up in their own rules and activities, that Sabbath had become just another oppression; it was not used for the God-given gift that it was.
Without rest we, of course, become tired. Without rest we become stressed. Without rest anxiety builds and peace is diminished. God says too much about peace and rest for this to be His plan.
Without rest, we can forget who God really is. Oh, we still go to church, we sing, we might even pray. But without rest, without being still, we are in danger in losing a right perspective of Him.
Psalm 46:10 records God’s direction to “Be still and know that I am God.”
Centuries ago God told His people to “Be still”.
Today He tells us “Be still”.
You may have heard me say this before. I look at this verse as a mathematical equation:
“being still” = “knowing God”
Do you remember the rule from algebra class? In an equation, whatever you do on one side you have to do to the other. If you make one side negative, the other side becomes negative. So then, if
“being still” = “knowing God”,
and we make one side negative, such as:
“not being still”
then by rule, we end up with:
“not knowing God”
“not being still” = “not knowing God”,
Have you been working hard at the things we have been discussing these past few weeks? Have you allowed God in to do some work?
Then take some time, be still. God has commanded it. But it is not a labor and it will not make your life more difficult. It is a gift. From God.
Be still.
Pastor Jim
No comments:
Post a Comment