Over the past couple of months, I have heard from a number of individuals and in varying ways, the word "rest", associated with/connected to the Lord seeking us to learn to rest in him, bringing us into a place of rest, learning to wait, etc. In the process of meditating on this and seeking for it to penetrate deeply, I was led to Isaiah 40:31 "they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they shall walk and not become weary." The previous verse references those who live in the flesh and how even young men will become tired from their running and walking, yet, in this verse, the Lord gives a time when a person won't become tired or weary; that time being when they learn to wait upon Him.
Wait? No, it is not just simply stopping. This word that gets translated as wait also means to have hope in or to fix sight upon. It is not a passive word. It is an active verb which rather than focusing on "movement" focuses on "focusing". Confusing? No, not really. It goes back to what has often been said of what it takes to be defined as a Christian (or even a pastor, prophet, priest or some other title). It is less about doing and much more about simply being. The fruit of such shows itself true and stands in witness rather than the actions directly. This is the deeply reference point for "wait upon", simply being with God, seeking His presence, seeking His face, hoping in Him, trusting His promises, letting His promise dictate your responses rather than your circumstances and what you see dictating your responses. Learning to wait equals learning to rest.
When we rest, He then is afforded the opportunity to have strength provided that goes beyond our fleshly strength. We are guided outside of ourselves and into a place whereby our minds get renewed, as in Romans 12:2 "be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind in Christ Jesus…." This learning to "wait" or learning to "rest" is about faith. When we worry, we demonstrate a lack of faith because worry is not part of God. How can something like this be said? Simple, God commands us to not worry. Why? It is because worry comes out of a spirit of fear. Worry seeks solutions that we can use our own reason as a way to get through. Worry seeks solutions that we can provide ourselves or out of our own strength. It finds its strength in fear, driving us to become deeper in our self reflection and absorbed in our own self and circumstances rather than being led to focus outward on the one person we should be afraid of; God himself.
Yet, the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, is not even that same fear that we access when we begin to worry. The fear of the Lord, understands very well our position versus His position, and to be struck with the awe that goes along with understanding this and yet even in this still encountering the incredible Love that He has for us. You see, according to the word, we are not given a spirit of fear. God does not give this to us. He gives us a Spirit of Adoption (by which we cry Abba, father <daddy in Aramaic>). It is this Spirit which should then be leading and guiding us, rather than any spirit of fear. If your image of God is one of Him pacing and wringing his hands………your god is too small. The God I know has His feet up. His feet were up when He spoke creation into existence, and they will be up when there comes a new heaven and a new earth.
This is the Spirit which we have been given. In learning to trust that Spirit and Him from whom that Spirit comes, we learn to rest and wait. Out of that resting and waiting, our strength, which is no longer coming from our flesh, is made new and we are given all we need.
Come Lord and bring that Spirit, may we learn to wait, rest and trust, that we may soar with you, trusting not in our own strength, but trusting instead in what You have promised and have already fulfilled, through Your Son, Jesus.
