Ben Wilson, LPC

He will quiet you with his love – Our call to rest

As we consider Sabbath Rest, reflect on this verse as we move into what it looks like to Rest in Him…. 

If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy, God’s holy day as a celebration…then you’ll be free to enjoy God. Isaiah 58:13-14 (MSG)

And when we are free to enjoy God, we are more able to Rest in Him. How to do that? Glad you asked…

Be Still

I really used to struggle with this one. (Who am I kidding, I still do.) I was always on the go. I rarely sat down much less sat still. There is a difference, you know, between sitting down and sitting still. I still catch myself  swinging my legs, jiggling my foot or tapping my fingers on an imaginary typewriter on occasion. But I have found that my soul has to catch up with my self and in order to do that, I must rest. I must be still. I greatly appreciate what Howard Baker says in Soul Keeping, “Sometimes the best thing I can do for my soul is to take a nap.” It’s hard to not be still while napping. My friends now know that if I don’t answer my phone, I’m probably napping and restoring the rhythm of rest to my soul.

Another benefit of learning to Be Still is that when we are able to be there, to be still, we let go of control and open our souls wide open for God to fight for us, just as He did for the Israelites in Exodus.

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

The Egyptians are hot on the trail of the Israelites as they flee their sandy prison. They begin complaining to Moses and he reminds them that God not only wants to deliver them, but that He will fight for them. As you have been trudging through the desert of life during the aftermath of an affair, a battle has been raging in your soul. As you learn to Be Still, He will have more opportunity to step in and bring His might (remember, He is mighty to save…) to your crisis and trauma.

Be Silent

Silence is a process of coming to stillness. ~Brennan Manning

Do you remember the classic Christmas movie, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas? One of the reasons the Grinch hated Christmas was the Noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! Is it like that in your house some days? What's that you say? It's like that most days? My world is full of noise from the ding of the text arriving on my phone to the radio in the car to the music in the headphones while walking to the blaring of the game on TV. We would all do well to follow the advice of Jeremiah in Lamentations.

It’s a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Lamentations 3:26, 28

Just prior to these verses Jeremiah talks about how he had given up on God, but then remembered God’s loyal love, how it is created new every morning…and Sabbath is supposed to be about Remembering…remember?

What do you ‘hear’ when you are silent? Do you hear whispers of darkness? Do you hear His whisper of hope?

God told Elijah to go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11-12

God gave Elijah hope for Israel in his whisper. He can give you hope, too. You just have to be silent enough to hear His voice of Hope and Love.