I was sleeping peacefully after a full day of voluntary labour when I heard my cousin’s gentle voice pleading, “Would you please turn your alarm clock off?” Apparently the alarm has been screaming for a while yet I could not hear it most of the time and when I did hear it, it sounded far and certainly not having anything to do with me. Otherwise, I would have smacked and banged it against the floor like a rock guitarists do to their guitars (…what in the world?? Surely, they spend on 7 guitars per week per guitarist for one performance: one on stage and the rest for rehearsals). The Lord has been teaching me about suffering, trusting in Him and resting. This offering is about resting in God even in the midst of noisy circumstances.
Men in general, battle with this thing of women that we must “just listen and don’t do anything about it” when women tell you problems. Excuse me! We are wired to do something!!! I have been dissecting TV’s and further breaking Hi fi’s while trying to fix them, since I was six years old and now you tell me to just listen ? That’s like going to type something on google and press “search” but expect no suggestions to pop up or going to a traditional healer to just narrate your sickness but anticipating no solution. Generaly, men would suggest any solution to a problem even if it doesn’t work and we would not sleep or rest without a solution, we are wired like that! Unfortunately men, along with many people , struggle with finding rest in God in the midst of noisy financial, relationship, work-related, social, health and other problems. Some Christians like me also find it hard to just rest and have fun “while the world is dying and going to hell”. I even backed my behaviour with scriptures like:-
Mat 8:20 NLT But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay His head."
But does God want us not to rest?
I should have read the above scripture a few verses further to find out that :-
Mat 8:23-24 NLT Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with His disciples. (24) Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
Brethren, it is evident from many scriptures that the Lord wants us to give us rest while we are here on earth.
Exodus 23:12 KJV Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
1Kings 8:56 NLT "Praise the LORD who has given rest to His people Israel, just as He promised. Not one word has failed of all the wonderful promises He gave through His servant Moses.
Psalm 127:1-2 NLT A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the LORD protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good. (2) It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to His loved ones.
I have no problem with trusting God or suffering as He has been teaching me but as a recovering workaholic, I find it hard to even understand “rest”. I have been given warnings at work due to working alone for extended unpaid hours doing many people’s work including physical labour work that engineers were not permitted to do. I am not accustomed to begging anyone for help but I would rather be a one-man band. I never went home for Christmas holidays but only few days sometimes. I did the same thing in serving others and the Lord. I worked a couple of jobs while serving in committees of different structures since the days in Varsity until a few months ago when the Lord spoke of this thing called rest that I couldn’t comprehend properly.
Ps. Vic. Mundy once preached about the difference between being driven (by people and things) vs being led by the Holy Spirit as he explained rest.
Luke 10:38-42 NLT As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. (39) Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord's feet, listening to what He taught. (40) But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to You that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me." (41) But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! (42) There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her."
I realised that I had the same attitude towards people who rest just like Martha did. If the Lord rated resting in Him as a better option than serving Him, then better it is. I am currently learning to rest and spend time with God and my family more than working. It is a big challenge because many things around me are falling apart and Satan has been given permit to attack me. But I am learning to rest and trust in God while treating the devil’s noises as if they have nothing to do with me; and to remain sensitive to the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit just as I did with my cousin’s. I still need your prayers for strength, brethren.
Mat 11:28 NLT Then Jesus said, "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Are we supposed to find rest only where there is no noise?
I watched Tyler Perry’s movie, “Why did I get married too” and there was this noisy character of a wife married to Marcus. They have been married for years and even though he sometimes stumbles, Marcus still finds rest around a woman that appears everywhere he goes and never stops nagging, screaming, talking and demanding action/answers all the time. I am already getting nauseas by just thinking about her, how does Marcus do it? Even the mighty Samson failed:-
Judges 16:16 NLT She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.
We got to give it up for Marcus because the Word says :-
Prov. 27:15 GNB A nagging wife is like water going drip-drip-drip on a rainy day.
Prov. 21:9 NLT It's better to live alone in the corner of an attic (roof) than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.
Prov. 21:19 GNB Better to live out in the desert than with a nagging, complaining wife.
I know that religion teaches us that when we do good, things go well but we need Christians like Marcus who would dare to live with and in hell but still find rest. We take after Our Father, who is “sitting” in peace, even though the world seems to be in turmoil. There must be something that this Omnipotent (all powerful) sovereign LORD knows that makes Him find rest. You never find Him wrestling with the devil.
We should be like Marcus.
Psalm 34:19-22 ESV; Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. (20) He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken. (21) Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. (22) The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
I believe that a non-Christian would die within a week if they had to live my life because my survival thus far is not by my might or power.
Psalm 112:6-8 GNB A good person will never fail; he will always be remembered. (7) He is not afraid of receiving bad news; his faith is strong, and he trusts in the LORD. (8) He is not worried or afraid; he is certain to see his enemies defeated.
Let the ungodly run around deurmekaar (bewildered) like headless chicken, when they hear a clock alarming them of recession, deaths, menopause, critics or whatever noise but you must relax and rest as you wait for your miraculous Isaac. What the Lord promise, He always delivers and He is your Shepard! I personally have learnt to be quite even when people accuse me falsely to my face, by trusting that the Lord shall defend me even if I think I know how to defend myself. I find rest and peace when doing that.
You must trust in God; rest in Him because you live in Him (His presence).
Exodus 33:14 AMP And the Lord said, My Presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.
If we truly know God, we should be comfortable in His presence which give us rest even during trials. Don’t you know you are seated in His presence in Heaven?
Ephesians 2:6 NLT For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
Why then try to solve problems while the Omnipotent one is relaxed besides you? Rest!!!
P.S
I will send the other two offerings about “suffering” and “trusting in God”.
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