Gettin' some REST

No alarm had rung yet,  but I woke anyway. 

Woke… but didn’t move.

I had no interest in moving.  In fact, it would have been physically difficult.  The weight of my body on the mattress caught my attention.  It was that… odd.  I happened to be on my back with my arms at my side… and I felt as though I had sunk down several inches.  I was keenly aware of the mattress hugging every inch of my body.  The affect was soothing, relaxing… comforting.  At that moment, I honestly thought to myself “this must be what it feels like to TRULY rest in the arms of Jesus”.  I smiled once again at the nudge.

Same mattress.  Different posture.  It was a posture of surrender.  Surrender of muscles.  Surrender of breathing.  Surrender to a natural position.   Silly as it may sound - my body had surrendered to the mattress.  And I didn’t want to move.  Ever.

I lay there awhile enjoying the feeling AND… the thought.

I wondered how often (if ever) I’ve truly rested to that extent in the arms of Jesus.  How often have I assumed a posture of total surrender and simply rested in Him.  There was comfort in that thought.  And peace.  Peace in His promise:  “I will give you rest”.

After a bit, my day was calling and I knew I had to get up and get moving.  Life.  It’s always there waiting, isn’t it.  While the mattress hug had ended… the feeling I had about resting in Christ didn’t.  I'm thankful for the reminder that He promises me rest when I surrender ALL to Him.  NOT the elimination of life’s burdens.  But rest IN them.  By resting in HIM. 

There’s Beauty in that promise of Rest.

And there’s Rest in the Promise. 

Thank you Jesus… I love you too.

Simple as that

When, then.

When/Then.

When…. Then.

Seems to be the way the entire universe works if you think about it.

When the sun sets… then it gets dark.

When I cut my finger… then it bleeds.

When fall comes… then the leaves turn color.

When I eat too many cookies… then I gain weight.

When… then.

So… if that’s the way everything works, WHY has this one verse in the Bible been haunting me??? 

“WHEN you seek Him with ALL your heart… THEN you will find HIM”.

When… then.

It’s been there all along.  Repeatedly in scripture.  That verse.  The “when, then” effect. 

But I missed it. 

Overlooked the requirement.

Glazed past the promise. 

When… then.

I’ve been a believer all my life.

Professed my faith at the expected age.
Believed my sins were forgiven and I'd spend eternity in heaven.

Sang in the choir.

Led youth group and a few women’s bible studies.

Yadda, yadda, yadda.

BUT, did I truly KNOW Him??  If I’m honest with you… no.  Not really.  Not like I do now at least!!  I had settled for less.   

If I wasn’t truly SEEKING Him with ALL my heart, though… why would I have found HIM?? Experienced Him??  Gotten to KNOW Him?? 

Why should I have expected the “then”… if I hadn’t done the “when”??

I’d have no right to.  It was part of the deal.  And I wasn’t living up to my end until now.  But once I did (seek, that is… with ALL MY HEART)…  I found Him.  I found Him as He promised, in new and real ways.  In ways I never knew possible.  And I can tell you that FINDING Him has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.  You see there’s this whole gap of time that gets overlooked sometimes.  The period between right now, today, your sometimes mundane-sometimes crazy busy life… and that glorious day when we see Him face to face (Hallelujah!!).  There’s the LIFE that He promised you right now.  ABUNDANT LIFE that only comes through knowing Him intimately.

PLEASE ask yourself this:

Are you TRULY seeking Him with ALL your heart?? Or have you settled for less.

Do you recognize His voice in your everyday activities…

Do you find yourself smiling at His humor…

Do you notice the love notes He leaves for you…

Do you sense Him waiting for you at your quiet time spot…

Does HE sometimes feel so close there’s almost a warmth to your skin??

If your answer to ANY of these questions is no, I encourage you… actually, more like plead with you… to ASK HIM FOR MORE.  More of Himself.

And then DO IT!!!

SEEK HIM.    

This time with ALL OF YOUR HEART. 

Make it the top priority of your life… to find LIFE.  The life HE wants to give you.  

Because nothing’s more important, you know. 

Nothing’s more important that finding HIM. 

And He promises you will.

WHEN you truly seek Him. 

When… then. 

Simple as that.

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(If anyone reading this wants to discuss how to seek Him and get to know Him more intimately, please use the email listed in the contacts section)