Rest For The Weary Mind and Heart

Wow….this post is long overdue.  Finding time to put my thoughts in order has been difficult lately.  Today, my goal is to just barely scratch the service of an unending topic – The Sovereignty of God.  Take a moment to think about that.  God is sovereign over ALL things.  NOTHING surprises Him.  I’ve been meditating on this for months…

When I am physically and mentally weary, I long for rest.  I have found sweet rest in mediating on the sovereignty of God.  As I’ve mentioned before, I struggle a lot because of my tendency to control situations and solve problems.  I can be easily overwhelmed by situations and circumstances that are beyond my control.  Constantly reminding myself that God is in control of everything—especially when I am not—gives my mind rest.

Why am I spending so much time meditating on something that is seemingly obvious?  Because, we tend to skim over the obvious.  We fail to personalize something so profound.  When you personalize the fact that God is sovereign over all things, it will change the way you live.

A few weeks ago, I was listening to Elizabeth Elliott speak about having a quiet heart.  She said this, “How to keep a quiet heart?  Put your whole trust in a God who is rational, personal, loving, and completely in charge of the whole universe and every tiniest detail of our lives.”

I don’t really have trouble remembering that God is in charge of the whole universe, but I do have trouble remembering that God is in charge of every tiny detail of my life.  Think about that for a minute.  Every detail….  Every. Single. One. 

Wow.  That puts a whole new spin on things, doesn’t it? 

When we go through trials---no matter what they are, we tend to pray for relief.  “God, please deliver me.”  “Make it go away.”  “I can’t deal with that person.”  We are tempted to think we need to inform God of the solution.  Once we let Him know what we need, then we think it won’t be long before something happens.  We even think up complicated scenarios and solutions to produce our expected outcome.  We are willing to jump through all kinds of hoops.  We could save ourselves a whole lot of time and energy if we just remind ourselves of the simple truth – God is sovereign.  It’s so simple, really.  God knows every detail.  He will use the trials in my life to make me more like Him.  I should really be praying, “Lord, show me how I should respond, so that I will be more like you.”

Simple doesn’t equal easy.  Oh, it is so hard to just let go of self.  My tendency is to preserve self or make myself look good in difficult situations.  My goal should be to reflect Christ.  It’s so easy to think that “reflecting Christ” is reserved for only some circumstances.  No.  No matter how difficult it seems, I should reflect Christ in all circumstances.  Yes, all of them.  Remembering that God is sovereign helps me do that.  I know that I’m not always successful, but I do find that I am more mindful—even in the seemingly mundane things of life.

As I said, I’ve been thinking about these things for weeks—a whirlwind of thoughts swirling through my head.  I’ve been struggling with how to make all of this come together, then I found it!  The story of Naaman.  We talked about this last Wednesday night, and I just sat there jumping up and down inside.  I probably would have made a few people nervous if I had been jumping up and down on the outside. J  To summarize the story (found in 2 Kings 5), Naaman was the wealthy, mighty, Captain of the Host of Syria.   He was also lost (unsaved), stubborn and proud.  In his home lived a slave girl who had been taken from her home in Israel.  This little girl (her name is never mentioned) believed in the true God of Israel.  She was evidently loyal to her master and his family because she was concerned for him and his family.  He had leprosy.  All of his riches, honor, and power could not heal him.  The slave girl wished that there was a prophet of God in Samaria, so that he could be healed.  Since he had no other option, Naaman visited Israel in search of a cure – first going to the king, and then eventually to Elisha, the prophet.  Elisha’s instructions:  Go dip in the muddy Jordan River seven times.  Naaman’s reaction:  anger.  Naaman was prepared for something WAY more grandiose and complicated.  His servants, talked some sense into him…..They said, you know you would do something far more difficult.  He’s telling you to go dip in the Jordan seven times.  You can do this.  When he obeyed, he was healed.  Not only was he healed physically, but he believed on God and rejected the idols of his country.

How does Naaman’s story apply to me today? 

Naaman’s circumstances were beyond his control.  Most things that overwhelm me are beyond my control.  God provided a way for healing even before Naaman knew he needed it.  He found out about the God of Israel through his slave girl.  Think about this….the day that little girl was kidnapped from her family and taken to a foreign country to live, she, too, was placed in a situation out of her control.  God in his sovereignty orchestrated it all!  He placed her in Naaman’s house.  Although she was a young girl AND a slave, she apparently responded correctly to her situation.  I don’t think she was rebellious and wishing evil on Naaman and his family.  She cared enough to tell them about her God.  Because she responded to her ongoing trial (slavery) correctly, Naaman was healed and believed in God.  Oh, and another thing….we don’t know her name.  It doesn’t really matter what her name was, what matters is who her God is.  Self doesn’t matter.  God does.

Back to Naaman….he visits Elisha and gets instructions for healing.  They were simple.  Dip in the Jordan River seven times.  He was rich and powerful, a mighty soldier, he could do anything, BUT how would it look for him to be going down into the muddy old Jordan River?  That wouldn’t be very dignified, would it?  What would others think?  or  Maybe the problem was there would be too little attention there.  Whatever, his reasons, it is clear that Naaman had other ideas.

How many times do I think my ways are better than God’s ways?  I need to simply obey.

Naaman’s obedience brought him healing and new life.  My first step of obedience of believing in Christ alone for salvation brought me new life.  My continued obedience to His Word, brings me healing and joy as I grow to be more like Him.

When I try to break such gigantic truths down into “bite-sized” pieces, I think about Psalm 139 (another great passage illustrating God’s sovereignty).  Ps. 139:6 says, Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.  I trust that these simple, yet profound truths will encourage you in your walk with Christ. 

Rest in God’s Sovereignty.  Reflect Christ.