31 Days {refusing rest}

I hope you'll forgive me for not writing yesterday on this subject. Sunday is my Sabbath, my day of rest and worship, and even writing/blogging is set aside. And so, assuming that you have not disqualified me, I shall carry on.

As I was preparing for this 31 days of blogging, I thought back to times when my heart was anything but quiet. I realized that not every situation was the same: whether it was fear, discontent or ingratitude, the underlying issue was the same. I tossed off the need for rest, for time spent in quiet prayer and meditation of God's Word and replaced it with a desperate need to untie the myriad knots of my own heart.

I'm hopping out on a limb to say that I'm thinking I'm not the only one who does this. Check out this verse from Isaiah: This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it." ~ Isaiah 30: 15

You would have none of it.
Ouch.

I remember a friend raising the idea of refusing comfort... those times in our lives where we know the truth of God's comfort, but will have none of it. I remember being able to see the truth in that, even recognize times in my own life where I chose to hold God's faithful offer of comfort at arm's length.

I believe we do the same with rest. With quiet. I know I do. I refuse rest. I have my to-do lists and my priorities; I wake with expectations of my own obligations; I carve out steady hours of work in sunlight and strive to carry that through until my pillow calls and I sleep. But rest? I often believe it's an extra-curricular; an option if such a window of time is open, but otherwise, a luxury.

But it's not true: in rest is our salvation; in quietness our strength.

I'm learning that rest is as integral to our daily walk and worship as prayer and praise and work. And not just the kick-back-and-watch-The-Amazing-Race-kind-of-rest; I'm talking the kind that leaves the heart quiet and centered, eager to live a life in beautiful fellowship with God.

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Thank you for joining me during these 31 Days to a Quiet Heart!
Missed a day? Find them all here:
Day 1 *

Question for you: do you struggle to carve out rest and quiet in your daily routine?