Posts Tagged: resting

“SEEKING AND RESTING”

On March 14, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David. LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

  2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

  3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD– now and always.” (NLT  Psalm 131:1-3, italics mine)

“All night long I search for you; in the morning I earnestly seek for God.” (NLT Isaiah 26:9a, italics mine)

Our puppy is fairly contented a good deal of the time.  Much of the time, she is satisfied with lying on my lap or my wife’s lap for longish periods of time.  Such long contented lies help us to relax as well, I think.  (Besides, she keeps our laps warm!)

However, there are other times when she will not be denied.

Take the other day, for example.  I had her blocked off in the kitchen, while I was lying on the living room floor, doing some stretches.  These exercises help with back and hip problems.  Our puppy paced back and forth in front of the gates that I placed between the kitchen and the living room.

Our little girl is afraid of the gates.  She has succeeded in knocking them down on at least one occasion, and it frightened her pretty badly.  So she tends to stay well back from them.

This time, however, while I was doing my stretches, I noticed her getting closer and closer to the gates.  She stood on her hind legs, whining, trying to get into the living room. Finally, she went to the edge of the door jamb, where there was a small, barely puppy-sized gap.  I just had time to notice the courage and determination in her eyes, before she was in, and I was smothered with kisses on my bald head.

I think that God values those times when we simply rest in him, like a small, weaned child who leans against his or her mother’s breast, but not for food.  After all, as the psalmist says, he is like a weaned child.  Instead of needing anything, the psalmist is leaning against God just for warmth and affection—for God’s presence.  Like any good mother, God loves those times.

But God also values those times when we seek him in spite of all the barriers—real and imaginary—that keep us from God.  He loves that courageous, determined look that precedes us bursting into his presence.

So, rest and seek!  Seek and rest!  Either way, God loves it.  And God loves you!

, , , , ,

“JESUS’ SELF-CARE”

On June 21, 2017 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

A friend who reads this blog always sends me appreciative, thoughtful, and thought-provoking e mails.  Concerning my post about loving and respecting God, others, all of creation, and myself, he noted how tricky it is to balance these things.  I absolutely agree.

My reply to his e mail was as follows:

“Dear James,

Yes, indeed!  It is tricky—perhaps even beyond tricky!  I most certainly have not made a good start on this.

In this regard (as in all others), Jesus our LORD is our redeemer, example, guide, friend, and forgiver.

I think I feel another blog post coming on (although it could be just a stomach bug) about how Jesus took care of himself.  I had never thought about that until your e mail.  Thanks!”

Generally, it is better to think before you speak or act, and I do try to do that (with varying degrees of success).  However, sometimes I think of things after I have spoken or written something.  After I had written the bit about Jesus being our example, I suddenly realized that I had never thought of Jesus as an example of balanced self-care.  Never!

I had thought about Jesus being an example of caring for others and for loving God, but had never considered that Jesus also took appropriate care of himself as well.

Jesus rested when he was tired.  He could even sleep in a no-doubt cramped boat in the middle of a storm (Matthew 8:24).

Jesus ate when he was hungry  (Luke 10:38-42).  Indeed, many of Jesus’ teachings were given while he was enjoying a meal with someone or a group.

Jesus reached out for companionship (Mark 14:32-34).

Jesus sometimes spoke up when he felt that he or those around him were being treated unfairly (Mark 14:48-49; Luke 18:15-17).

Now, of course self-care had its limits with Jesus, as indeed it should for all of us.  Jesus spoke of giving up his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).  For each of us, self-care must be balanced by a willingness for self-sacrifice.  There are times when we all need to be willing to risk everything for someone else.  And yet, our basic instinct must be not self-preservation, but rather self-care.  Only if we are taking appropriately good care of ourselves are we able to sacrifice ourselves.  A firefighter, in order to have a shot at saving others, must be in good shape physically and mentally.  Only so can she risk her life in order to save the life of another.

, , , , , ,
Follow on Feedly