Rest for the Weary

 "Come to me, all you who are weary, and I will give you rest." - Matthew 11:28

I planned to write this post at the end of 2020. It was a long year, wasn't it? We thought it couldn't get worse. Yet, here we are in 2021 and there are still major upheavals in our lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the United States, we have a new president and while some are happy about that, some are clearly not, as evidenced by the violent storming of the Capitol by extremists on January 6 and the subsequent impeachment of Donald Trump. Sigh. Drama, drama, drama. Whichever side you're on, the daily news is pretty exhausting most of the time. Add in a dose of chronic illness (with the fear of getting even sicker thanks to the coronavirus) and it can be pretty overwhelming, right?

If it's any consolation, life back in Jesus' time was no less complicated. Throughout the Bible, you find stories of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Famines and plagues were not uncommon. God's people traveled from land to land, sometimes being enslaved or persecuted, while at other times finding themselves wandering around in the desert due to their own disobedience. Jesus' family had to flee the country to protect Him from being executed while He was just a baby, and then He became highly unpopular with the Pharisees, from the start of His ministry all the way through to His crucifixion. Jesus knew that life could be stressful, not just some of the time, but a LOT of the time.

Jesus' invitation to rest in Him when we are weary reflects the prayer of King David in Psalm 23. Verses 1-4 from the New Living Bible say:

The Lord is my shepherd;
I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk through the darkest valley
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
protect and comfort me.

Do you see here what resting in the Lord means? We not have all we want, but in Him, we have all we need. Like a shepherd tending his flock, Jesus lets us rest when we are weary, while He keeps watch over us. He leads us beside peaceful streams, giving us living water for our parched and thirsty souls. He renews our strength when we feel like we can't go on. He guides us along right paths, giving us discernment and wisdom, direction and purpose, when we aren't sure which way to go. Even when we are in the darkest times of our lives, we need not be afraid, for we know He is close by, there to protect and comfort us.

No matter what you may be facing in 2021, you are not alone. God is with us in Emmanuel. He will walk with you, guide you and protect you, allowing you to rest in His presence while regaining the strength you need to continue on your journey. Do not be dismayed. Do not be discouraged. Do not be afraid. Instead, take courage from the power of His might. And when you are weary, go to Jesus. He will give you rest.

Peace, love and joy to you today.

Linda

Rest for the Weary originally appeared on Spring Sight blog, by Linda W. Perkins. Click here for more posts. Get even more encouragement by following me on Facebook. 

Where There is Hope {GIVEAWAY}

“The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” 

– Psalm 147:11 (NIV)

Have you ever thought about how precious the gift of hope is? How lost we feel when we don’t have it? If you have ever been hopeless, you know exactly what I mean. I remember many years ago, when I had wandered away from God and made a mess of my life, feeling hopeless. I didn’t know where to turn or what to do. But in desperation, I reached up to Him and He made me whole again. It wasn’t overnight. It was a process. But as I trusted His love for me, I began to see it becoming a reality.

Alone in the Wilderness

“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16

My husband passed by my office door, on the way from the living room to the bedroom. A minute later, I glanced up and saw him standing there in the doorway, casually eating a banana and staring at me.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

“Oh nothing. Just thought I would see what you were up to,” he said with a sweet smile.

I smiled back at him, hoping he wouldn’t notice what was really going on inside me. I wanted him to leave me alone. I needed him to leave me alone. But I didn’t want to hurt his feelings. After all, it really wasn’t about him. It was me.

That stress you’re feeling isn’t just in your head; it affects your body too.

The truth was that inside, I was feeling like a pressure cooker. It was the beginning of fall, which meant piles of paperwork and calendar items were coming home from school with my daughter on almost a daily basis. On top of it, my work life was going crazy, with deadline upon deadline. Add in my various health issues, and I was frazzled.

Finding Shelter - God as My Refuge

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'"
- Psalm 91:1-2

It's happened two out of the last three years. Our fall getaway - a special tradition established at the very beginning of our relationship, designed to be a time to relax physically and reconnect emotionally - has been marred by pain.

Today, as we get ready to head to the little country cabin hideaway we picked out for this year's trip, I wonder ... will it happen again?

I'm trying to stay positive. The last few times, we had lots of extraneous events and stress leading up to the weekend, something I used as a reasonable explanation for my outrageous headaches, facial pain, and malaise. This year, we built in a buffer. My deadlines and parenting stress ended yesterday, and we're not leaving for a few hours. Yay! Relaxation mode is beginning to kick in.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that I've been in a roller coaster of RA flares for the past couple of months. Migraines. Neck pain. Sore hands and feet. A swollen knee. And of course, the never ending battle of fatigue.

Today, I was lucky. My headache dissipated on its own.

When I wake up tomorrow in that little cabin, will I cheerfully greet the day with a smile and be able to enjoy going out on the covered porch to take in all the beauty of the fall leaves and mist rising up from the lake? Or will I be desperately pressing my fingers into my temples and the back of my neck, as I lay in the dark, covers over my head, praying for relief to come before my head explodes into full-blown migraine mode?

I'm hoping for the first scenario, but prepared for the second. Armed with healthy foods, a small stock of pain meds, and a positive attitude, I know one thing for sure: something good will come out of this!

Last year, I spent most of my time in the cabin. But the time I spent out in my kayak ... those few, precious moments of soaking in God's creation and enjoying time with my "bestie" ... were the best moments of the year. It was then I realized that with chronic illness, there is no permanent reprieve. There is no set schedule. There is no assurance of things to come.

What there is assurance of, however, is that God is there in the midst of it all. What is a "shelter" but something to shield us from the storms of life? What is a "refuge" but a place to go when trouble is near? What is the value of "rest" if not for our tired, weary bodies and souls?

Whether I'm working through my daily life challenges or on "vacation," I have a choice: I can struggle, or I can rest. I can fight, or I can find refuge.

Instead of asking myself "Will this year be different?" I am choosing to ask "What will I do differently this year?"

Today, I am choosing serenity: to change the things I can and accept the things I cannot. I cannot predict what will be. But I can choose with Whom I will walk on the journey. And that One is my rest, my refuge, no matter what the days ahead hold.

Are you taking shelter in the shadow of the Most High God? Are you allowing Him to give you rest and refuge, even in the midst of pain? Remember, He will never leave you. Just take hold of His hand.

Finding Shelter - God as My Refuge originally appeared on Spring Sight blog, by Linda W. Perkins. Click here for more posts. Get even more encouragement by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. 

Many of Spring Sight's posts can also be found each week on Crystal Storms' #IntentionalTuesday,  Kelly Balarie's #RaRaLinkUp,, Holly Barrett's Testimony Tuesday, Arabah Joy's Grace & Truth and Woman to Woman's Word Filled Wednesday.

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The Power of Rest

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

There is nothing more exhausting than pain that just won’t go away. The past few weeks, I have had more than my fair share of it, mostly in the form of migraine-type headaches. I say “migraine-type” because I’m not 100% convinced that they have all been actual migraines, but rather seriously intense headaches caused by a combination of joint inflammation, muscle tension, menopausal hormone fluctuations, and a bad tooth that has yet to be properly fixed by my dentist (let’s not even begin to talk about what a “headache” it is to have a crown botched to the point of needing it completely redone from scratch).

So … getting back to my story about migraines … I decided at one point to do a search for “RA and migraines” thinking perhaps that there might be a connection between my rheumatoid arthritis and the headaches. Judging from the other RA blogs I’ve read, I think many of us with chronic illnesses are “information junkies” and spend an incomprehensible amount of time researching potential causes and cures for our pain. We are willing to try just about anything to try and make it go away, right?

In this particular case, my research paid off. Yes, RA can cause cervical spine (upper neck) inflammation, which can lead to migraine-type headaches. OK, good. So I wasn’t crazy. There was a connection. But what about a cure? What could be done about it? I was at the end of my rope, tired of losing so much time and energy each day, as I struggled to even think, much less do all I needed to at work and for my family.

Finally, I ran across a video from a clinic, which was effectively a testimonial from one of their patients who had contacted them when she was diagnosed with RA and was experiencing frequent migraines. “Aha!” I thought, eagerly anticipating the answers that would surely come from watching the little 5-minute film clip. And so it began…

I waited and listened as the patient explained her initial situation and how dramatically different her life was now, after just four months of treatment. “Yes? Ok…and what was it you or they did?” I wanted to know. And here it was:

“Well, the first thing I did was quit my job,” she said. “I really needed to get out of all that stress and rest!” Other than losing a relatively modest amount of weight during that time, that was it. The solution to her healthcare issues boiled down to one word: REST.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the position to just up and quit my job or take a four-month leave of absence. Sounds like a nice idea, but it’s probably not very realistic for most people. So, what are we to do then?

I find it interesting that in our culture, extreme “busyness” is considered to be quite admirable, even though it accounts for the frazzled state so many of us find ourselves in, to the point where there are best-selling books with titles such as “Little House on the Freeway,” “Making Room for Life,” and yes, even “I’m Not Superwoman,” for women trying to do too much. I have owned every single one of those books and I am grateful for their message, because in the past few years I've given myself permission to trade in a very vibrant and yet crazy-busy life for a quieter, simpler one. I have learned that in order for me to be healthy and happy, I must have rest. Yes, even if it means saying “no” to activities and people I really enjoy.

Not everyone has the same idea about what “rest” is. To extroverts, spending quiet time alone may not make them feel “rested” at all, but rather even more drained. To them, socializing is what their bodies and minds need. Introverts take the opposite approach and find solitude to be their answer. I fall somewhere in the middle. I love my “peeps” but I wouldn’t trade my solo time for anything in the world. It doesn’t just happen, though. For me to find rest, I must be intentional about it.

The Bible is clear: we all need rest. Sabbath, setting aside one day a week to stop working, was designed by God for our benefit. We can’t be expected to go, go, go all the time and still maintain any degree of physical or emotional health. Even ministers need to be careful to take heed to that commandment. I know of one church where the staff is kept so busy that it’s off-handedly been nicknamed “The Fellowship of Exhaustion!” The type-A’s love it… lots to do, all the time … but others have burned out and left because they just can’t handle the pace.

Besides physical rest, there is another type of rest that is just as important: spiritual rest. That is the kind of rest Jesus is talking about when He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” There may be times in our lives when we just can’t control how much we have to do. I was a single mom for eight years and was frequently at the point of physical exhaustion. My illnesses, such as RA and migraines, can take me there too. But when I add worry and fear, or strife, into the mix, it is too much. I become weary from the stress of not only trying to do it all, but of trying to be it all. I become burdened by my troubles, from trying to figure out answers when perhaps there are none.

Just as my body is not equipped to operate without adequate rest, so my spirit is not equipped to handle all of life’s challenges alone. I need God. I need to enter His rest. And the only way for me to do that is to lay my burdens at His feet and to leave them there, to trust that He will take care of me and my circumstances, and to work all things for good. For me, my greatest time of rest is when I spend time with the Lord. Whether it is at my kitchen table in the mornings before work, with my Bible open to His Word; worshipping with others at church; or out in a forest where I can wonder at His creation, I find my rest in Him. It is there that I find healing for all the pain in my body and in my soul. It is there, I find the rest that makes me whole.

What does “rest” look like to you? Are you getting enough of it? Are you resting in Him or trying to handle life on your own?

The Power of Rest originally appeared on Spring Sight blog, by Linda W. Perkins.  Get even more encouragement by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

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