I give you peace

 I don’t talk all the time either, God…

Talk, talk, talking can be exhausting to me. I enjoy a little companionable silence. Just being in the same room with a loved one… a sense of not being alone and yet not having to engage and fill every moment. There is a comfort in that. A time of not wanting. A sense of okayness. Call it peace and rest.

So we shouldn’t panic when we don’t hear from God. Perhaps He is desiring us to trust - to feel that okayness in His presence. The Lord of it all. Who has promised to answer; fulfill it all - when the time is right. (Isaiah 60:22)

Does your “not doing” need to be filled with thoughts?

Do your prayers need to be filled with words?

Imagine gently rocking with a sleeping baby on your chest. Smell that infamous shampoo. Feel the rise and fall of that little body in its steady breathing. Examine the tiny fingers; the tiny nails. That baby feels safe and secure enough to rest there on you.

Are you absent from the baby’s life because you aren’t talking and giving? What you are giving is space for much needed down time. It needs a time of not doing. It needs the not needing. Just to rest in love. It restores and refreshes. God offers the same to you.

Fall is fast approaching. The beginnings of a “slow it down” season. Cups of apple cider and hot chocolate, fires aglow and crackling, favorite sweatshirts, kicking through the leaves...

We all talk about the simpler times of days gone by. Are they really gone? And if they aren’t, why aren’t we taking advantage of them?

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.   Matthew 11:28

I will give you rest. 

Are you taking it?

I believe the peace we seek is here and now. Many of us push it aside until “everything else is done”.

How long?

How long will you push peace aside? God is in favor of peace. God is in favor of rest. “Come to Me” He says, and you will find it. You can have it. Rest for your souls…

Truly, what are you waiting for?

What is worth more than the peace of Christ?

From the Message translation:

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.