Thursday, September 12, 2013

Heart at Rest

I am not a person who is usually at rest.  If my mouth isn't jabbering, my body is moving.  If my body isn't moving, my mind is darting here and there.  I often lie awake at night with a hundred different things swirling around my head.  The good thing is I get a lot of ideas and thoughts.  The bad thing is, this requires an awful lot of discernment to figure out where all these ideas and thoughts are coming from.  My thought life is crazy busy.  The enemy also likes to attack me here. 
 
In my Bible Study this week I read about having a heart at rest.  This sounds so good and peaceful to me!
 
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.  This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
1 John 3:18-22
 
So how can I get this heart at rest and keep it there?  To feel God's peace?  Only with truth and obedience.  I must identify truth in my thought life and then act in obedience. 
 
I have been through times in my life where God whispers to me often and I just act.  It may be as simple as writing a person a note of encouragement, or something as strange as turning the car around to sit in a parking lot and pray for someone.  The stories I could tell of how God has reached down and interacted with me would sound crazy to some.  But these times are so important to me and has built my faith.  These times get me through some dry spells where I don't hear from him much.  When I stop to figure out why I'm feeling silence, I start to sort through my hundreds of thoughts and pick out all the noise that is keeping me from hearing God.  The enemy throws so many arrows!
 
There was a time recently God asked me to walk the halls and classrooms of my church and pray with some church leaders to prepare for Vacation Bible School.  I certainly felt led to do this.  But when I got to church to set up my room, I allowed all the noise in my mind to get in the way and forgot all about his request.  I chose not to obey.  Now, God showed me a lesson here.  No, VBS did not fail because I didn't obey.  Quite the contrary, it was the best one I've been a part of yet!  He showed me that he does not NEED me to do his work.  He will work regardless of my obedience.  But what did I miss out on here?  What amazing blessings did I forfeit?  What encouragement did I not get to share?
 
I have moments where my heart is at rest.  When I say yes to his urging.  Where I don't start thinking about who will think this is weird, or will someone think I'm trying to step on toes, or glorify myself.  When I just say yes.  God sometimes urges me to go to the church after work and pray for a specific ministry.  So I send out my texts, emails and facebook status and just go.  And whether I have one person show up or ten, it doesn't matter.  I'm obeying and he blesses the mess out of that time, and uses it to encourage me and others!  I normally get a little confirmation from him afterwards that will blow me away showing me how real and alive my Jesus is. 
 
You see, God doesn't NEED me to do these things.  He WANTS me to do these things so he can show me life abundant.  So he can lavish me with blessings and his presence.  The more I practice saying yes to these little things, the more I experience his presence and the more I can share how real he is in my life.
 
Our hearts long for joy and happiness.  Sometimes I choose selfishness and get some kind of immediate satisfaction.  But releasing control and giving sacrificially is what truly leads to a more fulfilling and adventurous life than we could every dream of.
 
So when the enemy starts to interrupt my white space in my head, telling me I'm just trying to make others believe I'm so great, or a particular request couldn't possibly be coming from God, or I'm going to step on toes by answering an urging God has put in my heart, I have to recognize the source of these thoughts!  He wants to render me completely ineffective!
 
Thank you, Jesus that your power is made perfect in my weakness!  2 Corinthians 12:9
 
Thank you, Jesus that when I mess up, I can repent and you rush in to fill the gaps!  James 4:6-8,10
 
God does not expect perfection.  He only expects me to recognize my weakness, be humble enough to ask for his help and to be committed enough to move through and move on.
 
Lord, I desire to live in expectation and excitement to hear from you today!  I want to better understand your character.  Because of your presence, I feel accepted and significant and loved by you.  I don't want to choose the things of this world full of empty promises, things that wear out, break and don't last.  Lord, help me instead to invest my time with you.  No time with you is ever wasted!  I don't want to simply "survive" each day.  Every day is a gift from you and we should rejoice!  Psalm 118:24  Help me to listen and say yes to my daily adventures with you.  I'm so at peace that I don't have to worry about the outcome.  You are in control.  I only have to act on your urgings.  Help me not to overanalyze or worry what the world thinks.  Help me to just say YES!

1 comment:

  1. Well said!!
    I loved reading how your responded to God's whispering and said yes to God!

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