We move about the earth with unprecedented speed, but we do not know, and have not thought, where we are going, or whether we shall find any happiness there for our harassed souls. —William Durant, 1929
When we come to Jesus and find our rest in Him, our burdened souls are lifted. I think the real challenge is getting to that point. It’s so easy to place our hope in so many other things. We can tell we are abiding in other things when those things fail us. In those moments of personal revelation, we have a choice: will we choose to abide in Christ? Or will we become angry and embittered by the failure of things that were never designed to meet those core needs in the first place?
When our spouse doesn’t love us the way we thought our spouse was going to love us, and we are disappointed in the lack of love we find there, what do we do? We leave it to Jesus Christ, we abide, and we rest in His love! We find our needs met there, regardless of what our spouse does. When our teenagers start to go off the wall, running in every direction except the one we’re pointing them toward, what do we do? We trust in Jesus’ love. We rest there. When we’re teenagers and our parents are turning up the screws, and they just don’t get it, what do we do? We rest in Jesus’ love! We abide there, moment by moment, day by day.
The list could go on and on. Because it’s not just people that fail us, it’s money, entertainment, our health, etc., etc. etc. But the pattern remains the same. Anytime we face difficulty, we have the choice to either become embittered or embrace our relationship with Christ and remain in Him and His love to bring peace to our souls.
Jesus, give me the wisdom to quickly see when I am trusting in anything other than You. By faith and the truth of Your Word, draw me into Your perfect rest and peace for my soul. Amen.