BIBLE PASSAGE:
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul
(Psalm 23:2-3)
MEDITATION:
Do you ever have the feeling that you need to rest and be refreshed?
Sometimes the world can feel like it is going 100 miles an hour and
we are struggling to keep pace with everything. At some point, we
realize that we have been thrust into a position of countless
responsibilities, and this causes an increase of our desire to
‘chill’ and relax.
The world has groomed counselors of many flavors to help us
discover new ways to relax. The medical field has created pills
to assist us in relaxing. The world’s solutions can be helpful in
masking the stresses we feel, but they often fall short of
addressing the root cause of our tenseness.
We can be thankful for the psychiatrists, psychologists,
and medicines available, but deep within us we continue
to search for something more. Stress without relief, and
emotional turmoil can cause psychological, mental,
physical, and emotional problems.
God knows the struggles we are going through and He
reminds us (through the words of David, “a man after
God’s own heart”) that there is a supernatural solution
to our need to relax and be refreshed.
Read the words of Psalm 23:2-3 again.
Can you feel the peaceful picture those words paint for us? Can
you visualize someone who has left their worries, stresses, traumas,
emotional strains, physical weaknesses, and pressing responsibilities
in another place, so they can absorb the peace and tranquility they
have sought for such a long time.
In order to be refreshed, we need to first become relaxed. We need
to ‘lie down’ in a peaceful environment and ‘turn off’ the voices in
our mind which keep pressing us to think overwhelming thoughts
which prevent us from relaxing.
We need supernatural help in order to experience a relaxed state
of peacefulness. We need God’s help, and it is available to all who
believe in Him, love Him, and seek Him with all their heart and soul.
But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him
if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
(Deuteronomy 4:29)
We can’t find the Lord by doing nothing; we need to ‘seek’ Him.
How do we do that? We read His Word, and we pray passionately
and enthusiastically. And when we pray, we need to be open and
honest as we talk to Him as we would any other friend (without
using terminology we do not normally use, like “thee”, “thou”, etc.”).
We simply speak from the heart without concerns about being
grammatically correct.
The scriptures assure us that when we ‘seek Him’ with a sincere
heart and attitude, we will ‘find Him’. When we ‘find Him’ we
discover that His gentleness can help us reach our full potential;
His humility can bring peace to our souls, and His Spirit can fill
us with life-giving strength. It is through God’s mercy and grace
that we receive the wisdom to know what to do, how much to do,
and the strength to do them.
ACTION:
If you have a burning desire to find rest and relaxation, peace in
the midst of turmoil, and a refreshed spirit, then doesn’t it just
make sense to ‘seek the Lord’ and enjoy the blessings He can
bring into your life (and especially when you have tried many
other things that did not fill the yearnings of your heart)?
Through God,
our feelings of hopelessness are replaced with hope,
our ‘personal’ world changes for the better,
our stresses are replaced with a new calmness,
our emotional strains are replaced with peacefulness,
the things that seem overwhelming can be achieved,
our negative attitudes are replaced with a positivity,
and overall, our selfishness is replaced with selflessness.
Yes, God can change us from who we are, to a new person
with a new attitude (from the inside out), and give us the
ability to ‘deal with’ the things that try to overwhelm us and
cause us to believe that rest and refreshment are unattainable.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word which assures
me that no matter how much I worry and stress, You can
help me find rest and be refreshed. Forgive me for not seeking
You as I should, and help me in my efforts to seek You with all
my heart and soul. Father, I believe and am convinced that Your
Word is true, and that when I seek You, I will find You, and I will
be able to enjoy Your blessings of peace and rest. Thank You for
loving me and for offering me what I need to enjoy life more
abundantly. Teach me how to be still and know that You are God,
and that Your goodness and mercy are available for me when I
seek You in the right way. Help me to encourage others who are
serving You and show me where I can serve You too.”
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