​​His Inscriptions Blog

Life-Giving Communication with God
  His Inscriptions
  • Home
  • About
  • Current Words
  • Store
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • All Prophecies
  • Houses of Prayer
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Articles
    • His Inscriptions: How God Speaks to Everyday People
    • Have Smartphones Replaced God?
    • How to Pray to God: 5 Easy Steps
    • How to Start a Christian Blog: A Guide for Writers
    • How You Personally Could Spark the Next Great Awakening
    • Finding Beauty in Your Winter Season
    • Silence: Your Secret Weapon
    • Overcoming Exhaustion
  • Bible Promises
  • Friends We Support
  • How to Know God

The Rhythms of Rest

5/29/2014

 
The Rhythms of Rest. Blog article from Deborah Perkins of HisInscriptions.com

​Memorial Day has come and gone, and I am looking forward to the “lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” which will soon arrive. With summer comes the wonderful anticipation of REST: that warm and delicious, lounging-on-the-beach kind of rest that I love! This year, though, "summer" started earlier for me. 

My husband and I spent Memorial Day in a little cottage on the Rhode Island coast. Only two blocks from the ocean, our tiny haven afforded us an opportunity to rest, relax, and refocus as we celebrated our 15th anniversary. Despite the still-chilly air in New England, and only a brief, obligatory appearance by the sun, we walked on the beach, dipped our toes in the water, and watched as hardier souls than we dared to submerge themselves in the icy ocean waters.
​
It felt decadent, this sudden plunge from a tsunami of busyness into the gentle swells of peace. I realized that part of the allure of summer, for me, is the return to nature’s slower rhythms as I abandon the world’s high-speed demands. Were we not designed to live this way? Yet there seemed to be a lingering guilt, as if it were somehow selfish to relax!

I sat, one night, on top of an abandoned lifeguard chair, soaking in the spray of the waves and the crisp freshness of the wind. I heard the Lord say to me, “You don’t realize how much you needed rest. You don’t see how stressed you were.”

I considered His words. Truthfully, I have not been nearly as busy as I used to be, having recently taken a sabbatical and invested more fully in the things I am most passionate about: family, friends, writing, and prayer. Still, stresses abound in family life, and with the transitions have come new challenges. We are still pushing through major obstacles to our faith, still believing God for newer, better things, still dealing with the day-to-day demands of raising children.

The Lord wanted me to know that true rest does not come from a ceasing of activity alone, but from a yielding of the soul to the rhythms of its Maker. As our bodies must cease from action, so our souls need stillness in order to be restored. The restoration of the soul is as important to the Lord as the healing of the body. 

How does God restore our souls?
Here is a simple three-step process that illustrates how restoration takes place:

1. The first step is to set apart time to draw near
to the One who holds the power of restoration in His hands: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” ~Matthew 11:28-29.

By intentionally making time for rest, my husband and I were stating our willingness to be restored to God and to each other. Our tendency as humans is to “keep on keeping on,” long beyond the point where we should have stopped.

As a biblical example, when Christ’s newly-empowered disciples returned to Him, full of joy at “what they had done and what they had taught,” (Mark 6:30), His response to them was to “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31, NKJV). This runs counter to what most people would suggest after a professional success, which would be to go back out and work some more, especially if we’re already on a roll! 

2. Second, we become willing to submit
to adjustments in our thinking or priorities. We stop long enough to hear His voice, to discern His next words to us, or to correct any thinking that is not aligned with scripture. In short, we listen to and obey the Word.

Just as my husband and I needed time to just “be” together, so our souls need time to just “be” in the Lord’s Presence. Neglecting to rest is not just detrimental, it’s disobedient. A reading of Hebrews 4 reveals that disregard for Sabbath rests leads to a hardening of the heart (or soul) and a separation from God’s promised  peace. The command to be diligent about rest is, interestingly, followed by a description of the Word, powerful and sharp like a sword, and a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:11-12)

Mike Yaconelli, in his book Messy Spirituality, writes that rest is the “ultimate humiliation,” because in order to rest, we must admit we are not necessary, that the world can get along without us, that God’s work does not depend on us. It is being with Jesus, not working for Him. (Messy Spirituality, Zondervan Publishing, 2007).

It is an act of faith to rest in God, acknowledging that He is in control of all things. Restoration comes as we saturate our minds and hearts with living water – the Word of God. Out of this refreshment will come the empowerment to do the “next thing,” whatever that may be.

Bible pic
Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked.
~Psalm 94:12-13.


3. The final step is what I experienced on that lifeguard chair at the beach. It is in yielding to His rhythms for our lives that we are restored. Psalm 23 expresses it best: 
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul; 
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 
~Psalm 23:1-3
Many of us recognize the need to give rest to our physical bodies after times of exertion or prolonged stress. We have been taught to honor the Sabbath, to take a day, as God did, to rest from our labors. But not as many of us have succeeded in finding rest for our souls. I think it might surprise some of us, to find that God is just as interested in restoring our innermost beings as He is in refreshing our bodies. As we yield to the Holy Spirit's direction, we find that He is a gentle leader, not a relentless taskmaster. 

I want to end this article with a challenge: whether you recognize your need for rest or not, will you make a commitment to honor God on the inside as well as the outside? Will you set apart some time to just be with Him, to bathe in the pure water of the Word, to take time to sniff at the wind a bit and sense the changes that are coming? I promise, you won’t regret your decision! 

The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, 
and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned. 
~Ps 34:22
The Rhythms of Rest: a blog post from Deborah Perkins of His Inscriptions.com. Beach Mosaic
c. Deborah Perkins, 2014; all Bible references NKJV.  Click here to subscribe.

    Free Link to the Subscriber Resource Library when you join His Inscriptions!

    JOIN FREE
    Deborah Perkins, Author and Founder of HisInscriptions.com
    About
    ​Deborah Perkins

    RSS Feed

    Click to Order Deborah's Books on Amazon.com
    Author Deborah Perkins' books on Amazon.com
    Picture
    Author Deborah Perkins blogs for Bible Gateway.
    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Bible
    Book Reviews
    Christianity In Culture
    Church
    Communication
    Communion
    Consecration
    Creativity
    Deliverance
    Easter
    End Times
    Evangelism
    Faith
    Family
    Fear
    Feasts
    Finances
    Forgiveness
    Glory
    God The Father
    Government
    Grace
    Healing
    Hearing God
    Heaven
    Holiness
    Holy Spirit
    Humor
    Interviews
    Jesus
    Judaism
    Justice
    Leadership
    Lifestyle
    Love
    Ministry
    Missions
    Passover
    Peace
    Persecution
    Prayer
    Prophecies
    Protection
    Relationships
    Rest
    Revival
    Satan
    Service
    Suffering
    Supernatural
    Technology/Social Media
    The Bible
    Trials
    Trust
    Warfare
    Women
    Worship
    Youth

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Author

    A severe hearing loss from childhood caused Deborah Perkins to develop what she now calls her secret weapon: tuning in to God's voice.  A Wellesley College graduate and an award-winning writer, Deborah is now a wife and mother of 3 boys. Deborah has devoted over 25 years to professional and lay Christian ministry in New England and beyond. Her passion is inspiring people to cultivate greater intimacy with God. 
    You can follow her on social media using the links above. To subscribe to her weekly blog (free) by email, click here. 


    Salvation Pic
Photos used under Creative Commons from leireunzueta, kelgal77, graphia, Orin Zebest, MartialArtsNomad.com, put_the_needle_on_the_record, zeevveez, rebamae, jonycunha, traveling.lunas, Newport Geographic, Alexandre Dulaunoy, popofatticus, brendan.lally....away, adamfarnsworth, piropiro3, fabiane13, Luis Roberto Lainez, Snake3yes, ceasedesist, Kevin Shorter, dustinj, feryswheel, rghisi, stuartpilbrow, BLMOregon, Didriks, .Martin., jonseidman1988, feelsgoodlost, francisco.j.gonzalez, imagine_reality, Jay Aremac, Northwest Rafting Company, amsfrank, qmnonic, PhoTones_TAKUMA, chatblanc1, garryknight, limaoscarjuliet, V31S70, lcm1863, Jayel Aheram, SimpleSkye
  • Home
  • About
  • Current Words
  • Store
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • All Prophecies
  • Houses of Prayer
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Articles
    • His Inscriptions: How God Speaks to Everyday People
    • Have Smartphones Replaced God?
    • How to Pray to God: 5 Easy Steps
    • How to Start a Christian Blog: A Guide for Writers
    • How You Personally Could Spark the Next Great Awakening
    • Finding Beauty in Your Winter Season
    • Silence: Your Secret Weapon
    • Overcoming Exhaustion
  • Bible Promises
  • Friends We Support
  • How to Know God