ARE YOU RESTLESS AND HAVING DIFFICULTY FINDING PEACE?

SCRIPTURE:
But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, 
whose waves cast up mire and mud.  “There is no peace,” 
says my God, “for the wicked.”  
(Isaiah 57:20-21)

MEDITATION:
Have you ever known someone who always seemed to be restless?
Even while you were having a conversation with them, 
they seemed to be distracted.
When you listened to their words, 
you could tell that there was a lot of turmoil in their life.

Their lives appeared to constantly move from one crisis to another.
It might have caused you to think about your own life.
You may have realized that times of boredom were actually a blessing, 
especially when compared to the life of the other person.

We all like to be entertained and to participate in various activities, 
however we also enjoy times of peace and quietness. 
One actually accentuates the other.
When we have times of peace and low activity, 
we look forward to times of high activity.
Conversely, whenever we have times of high activity, 
we look forward to quiet times of rest.

But what if we could never have those restful times?
How would our life, personality, emotions 
and physical condition be affected?
It cannot be healthy 
for a person to feel they are constantly on a treadmill.
But the scriptures tell us that the wicked will not have any peace.

Why wouldn’t they be able to rest?
For one thing, those who are focused on evil may be living in fear of evil.
Secondly, 
they could be wasting their restful time thinking of evil activity.
Hopefully the reason they have no peace is because God is trying to help 
them realize they need something else in their lives – they need the Lord.

Of course Christians can also experience times of restlessness.
Lack of peace can be a by-product of our wandering away from the Lord.
It is not an accident that God created us with a front and back.
When we turn our front (face) toward the Lord, 
by default we turn our back toward sin.
However, when we turn our front toward sin, 
we turn our back toward the Lord.
Most Christians would say, “I would never turn my back on the Lord!”
But when they turn toward sin, that’s exactly what they are doing.

ACTION:
How is your relationship with the Lord? 
Are you guilty of allowing your selfish desires 
to cause you to turn your back on the Lord?
Even “non-sinful” activities 
can steal time that should be spent with the Lord.

When we read the following quote from Jesus, 
we naturally assume that He was referring to physical needs, 
but what if He was also talking about emotional needs?
“For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you 
gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, 
I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison 
and you did not look after me.” (Matthew 25:42-43)
The Lord loves you and wants a relationship with you, but you could be 
starving Him from that relationship as a result of your selfishness.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for the times of peace and quiet in my life. 
I pray that I will never take for granted this blessing from You. Forgive 
me for substituting other desires for the time I should be spending with 
You. Help me to realize that when I have times of restlessness, I could be 
turning my back on You. With so many distractions available, I can suddenly 
get focused on things other than spending time with You. Thank You for Your 
desire to spend time with me; increase in me a desire to spend more time 
with You.”