True to your word....

There aren't too many of us who can honestly report we are 'true to our word' all the time. We might intend to live with integrity and not make empty promises, but truth be told, we all struggle with saying things we will eventually forget or not find significant enough to focus our energies on any longer. The commitment may have been made, but that promise kind of takes the backseat when something more 'urgent' comes along. It is a good thing God doesn't get distracted by the 'urgent' and forget his promises toward us! His word is true and consistent - not moved by the distractions of life. One of the most significant ways he keeps his word is when he gives us space to just breathe a little in life. Space to catch our breath comes in many forms, even when we find the going is tough and the way seems to be riddled with all manner of things trying to get us down or off course.

God, my shepherd! I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. (Psalm 23:1-3 MSG)

God's delight is to lead us straight into those places where we can 'bed down' and recover. We all need 'recovery time' in life. Not all of life is going to go as we had planned, nor as we would even imagine. Sometimes life will send us a curve ball and we will not see it coming. We cannot plan for all the inevitabilities in life. The moment we think we can, that is the moment we most need to come away and just enter into that place of rest and 're-centering' - because we have lost sight of who is actually to be in control of our lives! God gives us time to catch our breath, not to hinder our progress in life, but to ensure we have what we will need in order to continue to make progress. 

Want to be in a place where you honestly find yourself saying you don't need a thing? What a place that would be, huh? To be in a place of contentment so deep that you cannot even think of one more thing you need! That place is in his presence. When we finally stop long enough, get quiet enough, and just begin to enter into that rest he has prepared for us, we find ourselves not looking at what we can gain, gather, create, etc. We find ourselves just easing into the enjoyment of being enveloped by his presence and love. We find the waves of grace bring renewal - the strokes of love's gentle hand begin to heal us.

Not all is known, but somehow it doesn't matter when we enter into that place of rest he has prepared. We stop 'mulling' those thoughts that have haunted us and we just turn our eyes fully into his. There we find his heart ministering to the complexity of anguish our minds manage to create. The Lord's wisdom becomes known and we walk away with our anguish lifted. Truly there is no other place where we can find rest for our bodies, renewal for our spirits, and regeneration of our minds. Why resist such a place - why resist his love? Never forget this - God is true to his Word. He will give us time to catch our breath, but we need to enter into that place he has prepared for that rest! Just sayin!