The Promised Rest - No Rest for the Worried

Good morning,

I trust you are all doing well this fine Saturday? Good? Good. ;)

Today's post comes after a somewhat difficult period for me that is gradually getting lighter like the dawning of the sun over the land and... well, you get what I'm trying to say today, I could wax lyrical all day if left to it.

So I'm going to get straight to the point and ask one question; have you ever asked yourself the question 'why does this always happen to me'?

Me too.

It seems like the natural reaction to have when caught by surprise with a certain event that has just occurred from out of nowhere. It might be an unexpected bill, a negative health report, some bad financial news. Whatever, the principle is that it often brings with it, if allowed, a wave of negative emotions because we wonder how on earth we will cope with it.

Coping With the Stroke of Luck

Let me just go back to the passage I brought in this week's "60 Seconds..." broadcast: -

Therefore, while the promise to enter His rest remains, let us fear that none of you should miss it. For we also have received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith (for we who have believed enter the rest)... Hebrews 4:1-3 (emphasis added)

Humour me for a moment and let's take a look at the rest of verse 3 in context: -

...(for we who have believed enter the rest), in keeping with what He has said: So I swore in My anger,they will not enter My rest. And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world. Hebrews 4:3 (emphasis added)

It brings quite a downer on the passage, doesn't it? Without context that is. Simply put, this is God talking of the Israelites when they were found wandering in the wilderness ungrateful at having been delivered from Egypt.

You see, there is a certain 'rest' we can enter into when we realise and accept that God is in control, He knows what He is doing and He most definitely has a plan.

It's hard for those who have negative health issues and it is also hard for those with financial issues to understand at the very time they are going through their struggles of this plan, but it will all make sense in the end, somehow, and some way, it will.

If you struggle with your health, God can be your strength.

If you struggle with your finances, God can be your banker. But only if you are prepared to show Him how much you trust Him with what He's given to you.

Sitting across from the temple treasury, He watched how the crowd dropped money into the treasury. Many rich people were putting in large sums. And a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little. Summoning His disciples, He said to them, “I assure you: This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury. For they all gave out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she possessed—all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44 (emphasis added)

You can bet that you know at least one person who, just like the Israelites would have done, ponders the very question I'm putting today "why always me?".

Immediately, it reminds me of a certain footballer who signed for Liverpool last season. During his time at Manchester City, this player was often seen to be wearing a t-shirt under his football jersey posing that very question.

God Has a Plan & It's a Good Plan!

Straight away, I am going to point out the obvious, that posing such a question as "why always me?" often highlights that you're looking at things with a slanted and very negative point of view. Don't get me wrong, I've been battling with that as a default setting for so long that it became second nature to me to say it without even thinking.

The reality though, and this is where it evidently will upset people, is where that saying "if life gives you lemons" comes into it, because you just have to suck it up and keep on moving!

Yes, the negative health report came in...

Yes, the bill showed up unexpectedly...

Yes, the financial situation doesn't look great...

But this is where how you react to it comes in, you don't have to let it be the breaking of you as instead, it can be the making of you!

God is here, championing your cause if you will not give up, not back down and not lose your hope in what He is doing for you. I just want to say that I know things may look tough right now, but believe me you will get through it, I believe in you!

I have to be careful what I write here, because there are points I've gone to write just now, that, as I've read them back, either come across as tactless, or are at risk of going on a tangent I have no business going down.

You've Got the Bounce-Back in You!

I'm learning this myself as, so far this year, I have had to do an awful lot more growing up than I would care to admit because of the way I've reacted to certain events that have come from out of the blue. This is the biggest year for life-growth for me, I would say. I for one am determined that whenever I get knocked down I spend as little time as possible "down" and get right back up again.

Have you ever seen a palm tree in the midst of a great storm? That tree may be bent so far over that it’s almost touching the ground, but when the wind finally stops, that palm tree bounces right back up.

I was just now reminded of a devotional I read recently from Joel Osteen and it reminds me of a message I heard from him before Christmas. In it, he was explaining how we all, each and every one of us, have this "bounce-back" spirit inside of us that means we can get right back on up after tragedies have it, after the bad news has been delivered, after the bad break has arrived.

Now take a look at what he writes next: -

What’s interesting is that while that palm tree is hunched over under the pressure of the storm, it is actually becoming stronger. (emphasis added)

I, for one, see that as what has been happening all throughout 2015 for me, I've been put under trial and tribulation to see just how far my roots go in Christ and to see if I want them to grow any deeper. I'll tell you that when you're back up into a corner, you soon realise that growing deeper in faith is the only way to respond, that's for sure!

Final Thought

My final thought then, is that no matter what you're facing today, how good or how bad, you can react good or you can react badly. You can let it influence you in a good way or you can let the situation break you.

Please don't choose the latter, it's not worth it, for the calling to a fuller and greater life is at stake here, bro's!

I'll leave you then, in closing, with what Joel put next in his devotional: -

See, the reason God said we’d flourish like a palm tree is because He knew there would be difficult times. He knew things would come against us to try to steal our joy and victory. But God said, “You’re going to be like a palm tree because when the storms of life blow, you are going to come right back up stronger than before.”

Until next time...

Peace off!