Rest

The word rest is defined by Websters like this 1. the act or period of taking one's ease after working or being active, as by sleeping, keeping still, etc. 2. freedom from worry, trouble, pain, etc.; peace.

I haven't been getting much "rest" lately even when I sleep because my neck has been hurting and my little pooch keeps waking me up to let her out around 2:00a.m. and sound sleep after that is almost impossible. I keep thinking about how when I was younger, I could sleep till noon. And not just doze...I mean sleep hard! So why does sleep elude me now? I just want 8 hours of good sleep! Last night I told Doug I was going to try the couch. I awoke this morning about 5:30 and felt ................GREAT! No neck pain, no back pain, no feeling like I needed MORE sleep....just a great rested ready to start the day feeling. How AWESOME!!

I began thanking the Lord for this rest. And a thought struck me......Psalm 23 says he "maketh me to lie down"......make us? Why would the Lord have to "make" us lie down? God's word also hits on the definition of rest .....in Psalm 37 It says "Fret not..", in Psalm 46:10 it says "Be still..", God wants us to have rest spiritually but we don't heed the ways to have it. Don't worry......Trust instead. Don't Try to fix it......Trust instead. Matthew 11:30 says "My yoke is easy and my burden is light", sounds like the Lord really doesn't want us to have that exhausted feeling, that feeling of heaviness and despair. He wants us spiritually to feel like I did this morning physically.....recharged and ready to start a new day!

I did some searching on the 23rd Psalm about this "make me to lie down" and one author said it like this "The shepherd starts the sheep grazing about 4 a.m. and they walk steadily as they graze; they are never still. By 10 a.m. the sun is beaming down and the sheep are hot, tired, and thirsty. The wise shepherd knows that the sheep must not drink when it is hot, neither when its stomach is filled with undigested grass. So the shepherd makes the sheep lie down in green pastures, in a cool, soft spot. The sheep will not eat lying down, so it chews its cud, which is natures' way of digestion. Study the lives of great people, and you will find every one of them drew apart from the hurry of life for rest and reflection. Sometimes, when we refuse to do this on our own the Good Shepherd makes us to lie down, because he loves us so and knows what is best for us." ......God help me to take time to "rest" in you so that you don't have to make me lie down, help me lay my problems at your feet and take your yoke that is easy, help me be still and trust in you.....you really can work it out much better than I can. Thank you for loving me and shepherding me through this life until I can spend eternity with you.