Resting

God’s been teaching me something: the difference between waiting on Him and resting in Him. To wait upon the Lord is a good thing, and there are many promises given for those who wait upon him (e.g. Is. 40:31). But waiting is an active thing. When you wait, you may tap your toe, wondering when the waiting will end. The Apostle John saw a group of people who were waiting in Revelation 6:10. “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long…?’” This is an example of waiting. The person who waits returns again and again to God to mention their request anew, anticipating the time when the answer will be made known. This is not the person who rests in the Lord, however.

Resting in God is characterized by peace. The person who is resting in God knows that he has what he has asked for, but that he must wait for it to be realized. This perfect confidence in God’s sovereignty allows him to rest and be content, not worrying about when the future joy will arrive. A.B. Simpson expresses this thought well in his song, “Once it was the Blessing,”

Once 'twas busy planning,
Now 'tis trustful prayer;
Once 'twas anxious caring,
Now He has the care;
Once 'twas what I wanted,
Now what Jesus says;
Once 'twas constant asking,
Now 'tis ceaseless praise.

The person who rests in God has an understanding of God’s revealed will which allows him to live in the moment, stick out hard stuff, trust God, and be free from anxiousness and worry. I wonder, can I truly learn how to rest in God?

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In other news:
- I have had stomach pains for the last little-over a day
- Things are better, but I'd love prayer for health... I never had problems with the food last year, so this was rather a surprise.
- We leave our language home tomorrow. We'll continue to take Spanish lessons next week, but will be traveling in from a little bit out of town.
- The moon was pretty full and beautiful tonight... you should take a look. =)
- There are two new people in my language home now: one is a former Discover student who finished interning with the program three years ago, the other is a guy from Quebec. 'Tis fun.
- Those going on the Reacon trip to El Salvador to begin planning the student practicum are leaving Saturday. Please keep them in your prayers.