Jeremiah 31:25
For I have given rest to the weary and joy to all the sorrowing.
The
Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
Rick Warren, (author of The Purpose Driven Life*
and pastor at Saddleback Church) spoke to the Southern Baptist
Convention Pastors’ Conference at the Baltimore Convention Center
recently and shared his personal story of heartbreak in the death by
suicide of his son, Matthew, the week after Easter Sunday, 2013. Warren
noted that 27-year-old Matthew had struggled with depression and mental
illness most of his life. When he was seventeen, Matthew came to Rick
Warren and said, ““Why can’t I just go to heaven? Why can’t I just go
now?” Warren’s son was tired and in need of some serious rest.
According
to a newspaper account of Warren’s convention speech, he said that
Matthew coped with his weariness by reaching out to others – that he
seemed to have a heightened sense of which person in the room was in the
most pain – and encouraged him/her. But in the days after Easter
Sunday, as Warren preached a series of sermons on hope, Matthew’s hope
and energy ran out…and he chose to take his own life and enter into
eternal rest with his Heavenly Father.
Warren’s message to the
pastors at this annual convention was about rest. He told them, “God
has a plan for relief...and it's not just on the other side of eternity.
How do you choose joy when your world is falling apart? Use the pain
to draw closer to God. When something bad happens, we always want to
ask, 'Why did this happen?' Explanations never comfort. What comforts
is the glory of God." He continued… "If you want the blessing of God on
your life, if you want the power of God on your words, if you want the
anointing of God on your ministry, you must be willing to suffer. What
Jesus promised was trials, tribulations, testing, temptation and
thorns. Because pain is God's megaphone, there is no testimony without a
test. There is no message without a mess. There is no impact without
criticism."
So where does this leave us when we are
drained…whether the fatigue is physical, mental, emotional, or
spiritual? Warren has highlighted the answer…”God has a plan for relief.”
Rest is available for the weary…joy can be had by all who have
experienced sorrow…and God offers each of us these things in abundance.
Will God’s rest and joy come easily? Probably not! Does this mean
that we will never have suffering or setbacks! Most definitely NOT!
Will God allow tests and trials…temptation and “thorns”? Certainly!
Will all of our tribulations be worth it? Absolutely!
I
frequently receive prayer requests from friends and family members for
all sorts of challenges and concerns that contribute to weariness. Not
all of these involve illness, injury and loss of life. People are worn
out over school years and courses of study that seem never-ending, jobs
that don’t satisfy – or do not materialize in the first place, bills to
pay, houses to buy and sell, moves to make, and relationships that are
troubled…not to mention all kinds of daily activities that leave us
bone-tired and in need of a serious break! It took author Charles
Swindoll two book volumes to cover one of my favorite devotional Bible
studies - Living Beyond the Daily Grind**! Many people wake up in the morning counting the minutes before they can crawl back into bed and pull up the covers!
I
get it…I’ve been there…and some days, I’m STILL there! But I find rest
in God’s word…in conversations with Him…and in fellowship with others
who are also seeking His respite. And you can, too. It starts with a
prayer…an invitation for God to join you and help you shoulder the load
of your “daily grind”. The Bible is filled with examples of people who
overcame tests and suffering…and rested in the joy of the LORD. There
are countless believers who are more than willing to talk with you and
offer you reassurance and encouragement…to let you know that you are not
alone - or crazy!
So what are you waiting for? Throw back the
covers…get up and get going…and find the rest and joy that God is
longing to give you. God has a plan for relief to give you. Will this
be the day that you take Him up on His offer?
©2014 Debbie Robus
* http://purposedriven.com/books/pdlbook/#purpose
** http://www.amazon.com/Living-Beyond-Daily-Charles-Swindoll/dp/0884863727
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