The Good Fruit of Rest

Posted by Traci at 7:35 AM

I’ve been reading a lot about resting lately.  Which is interesting, given that I have a three-year-old boy in the house and a one-year-old boy in China.  But we’ve been praying that God will prepare our hearts for this next season in our life and I think He is doing that.  Which is very good, because I truly don’t know how to prepare.  Next year we will spend 3 or 4 weeks in a foreign country, leaving our oldest at home with grandparents.  We will bring home one, possibly two deaf toddlers.  My oldest will go from our sole focus to a focus.  My work schedule will change somewhat; and we’ll acquire a mountain of debt.  Ch-ch-ch-changes…

That is why I’m thankful that The Word really is enough.  I read this passage this week.  He’s not so subtly trying to tell me to prepare to REST.  It’s still amazing to me that He cares enough to speak into my life in such specific and relevant ways.

Psalms 1:1-3

Blessed is the man

         Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

         Nor stands in the path of sinners,

         Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

         And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree

         Planted by the rivers of water,

         That brings forth its fruit in its season,

         Whose leaf also shall not wither;

         And whatever he does shall prosper.

I’ve read this passage before, but what really hit me is the “in its season” part.  Sometimes what I read is super relevant to my day.  Sometimes it’s not.  But it is all profitable, in it’s season.  The Expositor's Bible Commentary (my favorite commentary for deep exploration that normal people like me can understand) says this:  “Meditation is not the setting apart of a special time for personal devotions, but it is the reflection on the Word of God in the course of daily activities.  Even where the word is not explicit, the godly person has trained his heart to speak and act with wisdom.  The wise man receives instruction, writes it on his heart, and wholeheartedly trusts in the Lord with all his heart in all his daily activities.”

If I am in The Word everyday, being energized and fed, growing in humility and wisdom and understanding, then I can spend my day restful, not anxious and worried, but trusting that the food I’m eating will sustain me for the events ahead.  Because it has sustained me for this day.  He gave me wisdom about how to do the deaf drama last Sunday so He will this Sunday.  I’m learning that trust isn’t an attitude of “I guess you will God”, but an attitude of “You already have God”.

I had coffee with a friend the other day and she told me that since she’s made it a point to be in the Word everyday, she has “no worries”.  Never mind that she’s in graduate school, teaching full time, tutoring every day, recently moved, and trying to start a family.  She has lots of worries, but she chooses to focus on His Word instead.  And compared to the Word, worries can’t hold a candle. 

I’m so thankful God is answering my prayer to prepare my heart.  I know that like my friend I’ll have lots of options when it comes to things to worry about in the coming months, but I want to choose His Word instead.