“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.” — Psalm 62:5 (NIV84)
There are times that our souls are disturbed. This usually occurs when we are walking by sight (and not by faith), and we cannot reason within our minds the circumstances we face. Worry is the natural by-product of walking by sight. Worry is produced when we, left to our reason alone, cannot make sense of our situation. We begin to fret and worry, thinking that such attention paid to the situation will eventually produce a solution. The problem is that it doesn’t work that way. Jesus reminds us that worry has no value when He asks whether worrying has ever brought about a solution or added a day to anyone’s life. The answer is obviously no. Prolonged worry actually takes days away from a person’s life. So where do we find the answer to the problem of worry? The psalmist says to find rest for your soul.
Rest for our souls sounds like the answer, but how do we attain it? Jesus says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you REST.” Rest for our souls is directly connected to our hope in the Lord. It is not that we have to deny the circumstances of our life. We need to surrender the issues to the Lord. He alone knows why we are experiencing what we are and how best we can weather the storm. We need to stop walking by sight (worrying) and walk by faith (hope) in the Lord. Even in the midst of the storm we can find peace and rest for our souls if we just trust in the one who has created our souls. Our God is good. He promises to be faithful to us. Jesus promises to give us rest. I always marvel at the contrast of Jesus’ disciples bailing water and fearing for their lives the day the storm hit, while they were sailing across the lake. But where do they find Jesus? Asleep in the boat. Jesus is at perfect peace because He is in perfect control.
Today, let’s walk by faith and give to Jesus all that causes worry and grief in our lives so that we might find rest for our souls.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church