Resting

I love to look up definitions to words. Even if its a word that I know the general meaning of.  As I read the Bible, sometimes a word jumps out at me.  It can be a word that I don’t really know the definition to, so I look it up to get some insight on the passage; or it can be a simple, little word that we all use and are familiar with but I want to see what the dictionary says its meaning is.

Today, as I was reading in the book of Numbers (I won’t admit that I kinda groaned this morning when I saw what was ahead in my daily reading…”Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.  Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh…”  I can’t even pronounce most of the names in this chapter!! yikes!!  But I do read it! 😉 )…anyway, my reading started in chapter 9 of Numbers.  When I came to verse 18, the word “rested” jumped out at me…and it is mentioned a few more times in the following verses, to the end of the chapter.

“…as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents…whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not… At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents…”

As I read this passage, I wrote these thoughts down in my journal ~

Its ok to rest.

Until the LORD lifts the cloud, rest.

Rest in Him.

Rest in His timing.

Rest in where He has me.

So what does this little word “rest” mean?

The Webster’s 1828 dictionary is my favorite dictionary, so I looked it up in there, and this is what it says:

 Cessation of motion or action of any kind;

as rest from labor;

rest from mental exertion;

rest of body or mind.

A body is at rest when it ceases to move;

the mind is at rest when it ceases to be disturbed or agitated; 

Quiet; 

The past few years have been some of the most challenging ones I’ve ever had.  My moms sudden death especially wreaked havoc on me emotionally and physically.  So reading the passage in Numbers this morning, I realize how much I’ve struggled with just “resting.”  Struggling with the “mind is at rest when it ceases to be disturbed or agitated” part.  Resting in Him…in His timing…and where He has me at this very moment.

I haven’t quit reading my Bible.  I haven’t quit praying.  I haven’t stopped opening our home up to others – we still have a revolving door (yes, Momma, I still struggle saying “no”) – our guest room continues to pillow many a weary head and our table seldom has just our family sitting around it.  So I’m not talking about physical rest here (though sometimes to rest mentally and emotionally includes resting physically).

The “resting” part for me is resting in the changes the Lord has brought my whole body, mind and emotions through in the past few years.  Resting in the changes.  Resting in my weaknesses.

I’ve battled with feelings that I’ve failed.

But I haven’t failed.

I may not be doing quite as much as before, but I haven’t quit.  The LORD has provided a beautiful, refreshing “brook” for me to sit down beside and soak up God’s Word and other relaxing things to do and enjoy, and today I’ve realized that mentally I have been “disturbed and agitated” through this whole process.  Struggling…fighting against resting.

I have to admit, resting sorta scares me.  I feel like there is a fine line between “resting” and “stopping” or “quitting,” and God knows how much I don’t want to quit!!  When I look around and see others quitting (some who I would have never thought would ever quit), I strikes real fear in my heart.  Oh God, I don’t want to quit!

Today the Lord let me see that the cloud that has been hovering over isn’t actually a bad thing.  It’s His way of saying, “Just rest, Mitzi.”

(Brush lettering with pen and watercolor – like the picture above – is one of the relaxing things the Lord has recently given me to do to relax.  I am so enjoying it!!)

Several days ago I was thinking about the story in I Samuel 30 ~ its the story about David and 600 of his men and how their wives, sons and daughters were all taken captive.  After encouraging himself in the LORD his God, David prayed and asked the Lord if he should go after the enemy and rescue all those taken captive.  The LORD tells him to go.

Out of the 600 men that were with David, 200 of them were so faint that they just couldn’t go into battle.  But David didn’t stand there with his hands on his hips, shaking his head at them, disappointed that they couldn’t go help fight.  Instead, he told them to stay by the brook Besor while he and the other men went to battle (I don’t know about you, but I think of water/refreshment and relaxing, when I think of staying by a brook 🙂 ).

So they stayed back and rested.  But they didn’t quit!  The Bible tells us that they tarried by the stuff.  Though they were faint and couldn’t go fight, they did what they could.  And when David came back from rescuing the people, it says that “he saluted them.“

Wow…I love that!

But, of course, there were some of the 400 men that went into battle with David that said that they didn’t want to share of the “spoil” with the men that had to stay behind.  I can only image how they must have taunted the 200 men that were too faint to fight.

{Note:  And you know what the Bible called those men?  “Wicked” and “men of Belial.”  Just thought I’d mention that…  Oh!  And remember, the devil (Belial) is the accuser of the brethren and his constant “nattering” in our ears, telling us what failures we are, can be very wearisome and discouraging to the strongest Christian…but don’t let it get you out of the race!  Plug your ears and keep running!!}

Ok…back to the story…

When the wicked men come to David with their complaining, what does David say to them?

“Ye shall not do so, my brethren, with that which the LORD hath given us…

as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff: they shall part alike.”

Resting doesn’t make you…or me…a failure.  Resting doesn’t mean we’re not still doing something for the Lord.

Today, I feel like the Lord was saying to me, “Its ok to rest…just don’t quit.”  He’s not standing there shaking His head at me with disappointment.  Instead, He is saluting me…for staying by the stuff, for not quitting.  Isn’t that an encouraging thought?!!

So, just like David’s men, I want to rest by the brook when I’m weary…to rest under the Lord’s cloud…to stay by the stuff…and not quit!

Are you faint?  Is there a cloud over you…and the Lord is telling you to rest?

Its ok!  Rest, if you must, but don’t quit.

Stay by the stuff.  And stay by the brook.  Drink from the refreshing stream of God’s living Word.

Rest in Him.  Rest in His timing.  Rest in where He has you right now.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are –
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

– by Author Unknown

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

PS:  If you are weary…rest, my friend, rest!  But if you are looking for an excuse to quit because you’re tired of fighting the good fight of faith, or because you’re tired of standing alone, tired of fighting against the pull of the world…I can guarantee it that you will find that excuse and you will quit.  As I was rereading the passage in Numbers I noted in verse 22 that is said that if the cloud tarried “two days, or a month, or a year…” the people were to tarry for two days, a month or a year.  I wanted to comment that “if you need to rest for two days, or a month or a year, do it!  Just don’t quit!”   But I also didn’t want someone to read that and say, “Whew!!  I’m going to stop and rest for a year!” and then quit altogether.  Remember, the 200 men that stayed behind were still doing something.  They were “staying by the stuff,”  and that takes grit and fortitude (now thats a word you should look up in the dictionary!  The definition is amazing!  How do I know??  I just looked it up!!  😉 ).