A soul at rest in God

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth (John 16:13)

"Holy Spirit, guide me...guide us into the truth of Your restfulness. Unveil our spiritual eyes to see the enamouring falsehoods around us, that feed the compulsive spirit within us. Would you give us the desire, grace and courage to renew ways of relating to You, to ourselves and to others - so that we may truly enter into Your rest. Expand our hearts to receive your gift of this meditation. In Jesus name we pray, Amen". 

How are you doing? 

"I'm well, my soul is at rest in God". I might be tempted to express this response for real when asked - if it hasn't already been uttered - as God increasingly meets me in expansive spaces of restedness within. Wow. What a testimony this could be - of God's goodness over the typical 'okay-lor or surviving-lah' lines. 

Rest. Reflecting on what the Word says opens the door to visits from some familiar comforts:

- being yoked with Christ to undo my self-imposed weariness (Matthew 11:28-30)

- entering into Sabbath-rest as ordained for the people of God in ages past (Hebrews 4)

- hiding under the shelter and shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91)

- standing on the Rock of our salvation, steady within a fortress of protection (Psalm 62)
- walking along ancient paths towards soulful rest (Jeremiah 6:16)

Gently, I lift this thread and weave it together with stillness, waiting, quiet, calm and the peace of God. The biblical tapestry that emerges is one of pure, innate beauty - the way Christ-life should be. I can't help but to let out a mixed sigh of relief and a tinge of regret - how is it that such divine rest has eluded me for the most part of my adult life? 

Physiology typifies our foremost response to being well-rested, as affirmed by smart-watched metrics of sleep, nutrition and exercise. And there is good reason for proper theology of the body as integrated with our spirit, soul and mind (Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart). Perhaps my naivete has been to stay more content with caring for the body, instead of attending to unseen inner nurturing that clear the pathway to true rest. 

Rest at the core - deconstructing and re-forming my identity path

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls..." (Jeremiah 6:16)

I find myself standing at this spiritual crossroad from time to time. In those small, unassuming yet decisive moments of rest or unrest, where life happens. A colleague's bland comment; feeling less productive than I ought to be at work, home and for God; emotional fatigue from tending to incessant demands from the kids; and so on.

In-conversation, it pleases God to reveal the heavy, deceitful burden I carry from living under the weight of perfecting expectations of self and others. I bow low and feel a yoke being placed over my shoulder. It fits easily, surprisingly light. I tilt my head sideways, look at our Lord Jesus and rise in unison alongside Him. "So, this is the rest You spoke of in Matthew 11 - I sense your heart, Lord...it's so gentle and humble. Teach me how to walk, how to find rest in You".

Paying attention to our responses to life's curve-balls - what we say, think and do (or don't do) - can lead us into the roots of misplaced identity. Here, Jesus beckons us to rest while he tenderly dresses and soothingly exhales over our open, festering wounds. A deep heal is allowed to permeate our being. But could it be - most of the time - impatience or indifference lead us to treat our identity malaise as scratched interruptions to life, fit for self administered band-aids? And so we strive, are agitated and live on compulsively.

I am quick to recognise such symptoms of restlessness in me during seasons past. Thank God these will have no place crafting the future that God has so ordained for me. Instead, I plan to live out the blessedness of sacred rhythms.

An unhurried, time-rich life - respecting God's rhythms for the day

I continue to wait upon the Holy Spirit for wisdom to live a time-rich life - where there is more than enough time to do that which God desires of me; where my being with God dictates any form of doing; where His grace does the pace-setting as I run in such as a way as to win the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24). And my spirit man began to perceive two distinct set of principles:

In particular, the truth about vocation and rest hit me hard. Culturally, I grew up imbued that the hierarchy work and bread-winning occupied was not to be questioned. And when the going gets tough - Genesis 3:17 "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life" - served as the disoriented scourge of productivity and unfortunate spiritual resignation. So, chasing time became second nature for me, forming a harried and hurried lifestyle. A rather simple yet sad epitome was how I used to apply shampoo, facial and body wash all-at-once in a great shower rush, to attend to next matters of obscure urgency. Worse, rest was considered to be a luxury. Even in relaxed times, my mind would quickly race to something that remained undone, gladly enlisting more empty check-boxes.

The one who hurries delays the things of God, Vincent de Paul

I'm thankful for such divine remembrance. The depth of my time depravity testifies to how far God has raised, transformed and renewed my mind. I now can test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. 

Work-rest tensions dissolve as Eugene Peterson helps us discover the revelation of God's cadence:

'The Hebrew evening/ morning sequence conditions us to the rhythms of grace. We go to sleep, and God begins his work. As we sleep he develops his covenant. We wake and are called out to participate in God's creative action. We respond in faith, in work. But always grace is previous. Grace is primary. We wake into a world we didn't make, into a salvation we didn't earn. Evening: God begins, without our help, his creative day. Morning: God calls us to enjoy and share and develop the work he initiated. Creation and covenant are sheer grace and there to greet us every morning'

Working the Angles, 1987

Almost immediately, our souls come alive to God's vision of a sustained, grace-paced life. At the same time, we quickly realise how counter-cultural unhurried living is. Vincent de Paul, a 17th century priest, exhorts us to consider that [The one] who hurries delays the things of God. Traversing the bible confirms this experience - Saul's premature offering (1 Samuel), Jesus' suspended emergency visit to Lazarus (John 11), the impatient consummation of Abraham and Hagar (Genesis 16).

Indeed, our God transcends the very nature of time itself (2 Peter 3:8).
In this context, the formation of our spirits can neither be rushed nor mastered.

...At Rest, as a Child in Mother's Arms, So is My Soul 

One of the loveliest refrains of rest comes from Psalm 131 -
and we could pause here to take in Margaret Rizza's inspirational composition

O Lord my heart is not proud,
Nor haughty my eyes.
I have not gone after things too great,
Nor marvels beyond me.
Truly I have set my soul,
in silence and peace;
at rest, as a child in its mother's arms,
so is my soul.

As this meditation comes to a close, let us be willing to consider this opening as a sacred space.
Consenting to the Holy Spirit's invitation - through this Psalm - we can take on a posture of lowliness and contentment, without concerning ourselves with great matters.
Immersed in still and quiet - we experience there the God who sustains, steadies and secures us in His loving embrace.

My Soul is at Rest in God. Amen.