Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

Come = Move towards

Get away with = Escape

Recover = Retrieve, take back

Rest = Cease work

Walk = Move at a regular pace

Work = Activity done to achieve purpose

Watch = Observe attentively

Learn = Gain knowledge

I was thinking about this scripture as we finished up our Summer Playlist Sermon Series on the Psalms, talking about orientation, disorientation, and reorientation this past Sunday.

We must spend time in God’s Presence. We must be with Him if we want to experience real rest and recover our life in this often uncertain and chaotic world.

In the final sermon, the guest speaker shared Psalm 73…

But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their end. Psalm 73:16-17 ESV

The Psalmist is looking for an answer to the fate of the wicked and it didn’t make sense to him until he went into the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is The Presence of God.

The guest speaker, Jodi Owens, said, “This is the lesson of the Psalms. Sometimes life does not make sense. Sometimes we live under great blessings and sometimes we suffer terrible trials. And the Psalms urge us to take all these experiences to God, not because we find answers in our prayers, but because prayer brings us into God’s Presence. And it is the Presence of God that gives us the ultimate peace regardless of circumstances.”

Isn’t that what we all long for “ultimate peace.”

The Psalmist ends chapter 73 by saying…

But for me it is good to be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my refuge,
    that I may tell of all your works. Psalm 73:28 ESV

It is good to be near God.

Why is it good to be near God? Because when we spend time with God we change for the better. There is a miracle and mystery to being in the Presence of God.

One of my favorite Psalm passages, which I know I have shared before, is from Psalm 62:5-8 ESV

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Trust in Him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before Him;
    God is a refuge for us.

Trust = firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something

Pour out = To freely express our emotions

Refuge = a condition of being safe or sheltered from pursuit, danger, or trouble

Do we really TRUST God?

Do we believe He is reliable and truthful?

Do we believe in His ability and strength and provision?

Do we believe that He is a safe place for us to shelter from trouble?

One of my most disorienting times were the years immediately after we moved to Tennessee. I thought something had gone wrong. I thought things should have been different. I did not think my parents should get divorced. I did not understand why my dad said I couldn’t work for him after we moved. I thought things should be different than they were. I thought it should be easier. I thought the transition should’ve been smoother. I thought we should’ve made friends more quickly.

I was not trusting that God was in control even though I was saying I trusted God. I believed in Him, and I knew He was sovereign in theory, but I was not actively practicing believing that God was for me, that God was with me, that God was working all things together for my good and His glory. I had to practice those thoughts. I had to practice believing. I had to intentionally fall in love with God by thinking on His Truth, spending time with Him, by reading His word and believing that it was true for me.

I cried out to God during this time through prayer and journaling. And God heard my cry. He brought me, slowly overtime as I trusted Him, believed in, and received His love for me, into reorientation. I am extremely thankful for the freedom I have found in trusting Him and spending time in His Presence.

I highly recommend journaling as a way of pouring your heart out to God. Tell God everything! The good, the bad, the challenging, the wonderful, the overwhelming stuff and the frustrating things. The successes, the fears, the doubts, the hopes and dreams and praises. All of it! Name it. Get it out. And I have found that often in the getting it out I see God, I hear from Him, I recognize where I could improve, or how I am looking at things/thinking about things poorly. God changes me in the process, not my circumstances.

I was listening to a Rob Bell commentary yesterday and he said, “When you cry out, you break the monotony and despair that tomorrow will always be a repeat of today. … When we cry out, we are opening ourselves up to strength and power and resource and Spirit beyond ourselves. The cry is what breaks us open and then we become receptive to that which is beyond us, and this is when the healing, the saving, the liberating, the redeeming often begins.”

Yes, and Amen!!

We grow our TRUST as we practice TRUSTING! As we believe in and anticipate God showing up for us providing the strength and power and resources we need! We have His Spirit in us! We have the power that raised Christ from the dead in us! Working and moving and helping! PRAISE!! (Romans 6:10-11)

Today I read Psalm 112:7 ESV, He is not afraid of bad news;
    his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.

As we spend time with God, as we believe in, look for, trust, and experience His goodness, grace, provision, and help in our lives we can rest. We can be at peace because He is in control. We need not fear bad news because we KNOW He is with us, and He will take care of us through whatever we face.

“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2 NASB

This verse, Isaiah 12:2, has become a touchstone for me this year. A verse I keep before me. A verse I repeat throughout the day.

We are a forgetful people! We must be reminding ourselves of God’s Truth by reading, repeating, meditating on scripture daily! Set a reminder in your phone with a meaningful verse that reminds you of what you need to be reminded of. Write meaningful verses out in your journal. Keep TRUTH ever before you and talk with God throughout each day. Practice. We can have an ongoing dialogue with God all day in our heads. We have to be intentional about this because our brains will give us all kinds of unhelpful thoughts. You decide what you think on! Take those unhelpful thoughts captive and replace them with Truth and be transformed by the renewing of your mind! (2 Corinthians 10:5, Romans 12:2)

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with Me and work with Me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with Me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly. Matthew 11:28-30 MSG

Keep seeking and discovering!