Sleep Tight

You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
~Psalm 4:7-8

 Rest is vital. without we grow weary & tired, but thankfully for us, the Lord watches over us - even as we sleep.  We can rest knowing that He will provide us eternal comfort, care & love.

I forget to rest-- to take a Sabbath.  to stop & listen to the Lord.  How can we hear Him, if we do not listen.  How can we see His ways when we are so focused on our own.  Taking a day of rest or a Sabbath has always been a commandment that I have merely scuffed off-- overlooked... considered in over traditional-- or thing in the past .. like for Puritans or Little House on the Prairie, but we are COMMANDED to take a Sabbath.  Throughout the hustle and bustle of this world, how can we hear the Lord.  -- We pray for energy & renewal, but yet we don't leave room for it.  I find myself constantly driving myself further & further into oblivion, much like a rusty nail.  I keep going-- I don't take time to stop-- even pause-- BREATHE.  

And that's sin.  Flat out sin-- 

it separates me from the Lord and interferes with my intimate & personal relationship with Him.  Satan uses business to distract me from being still in the Lord. (Psalm 46:10).  At my worst, I let stressors and to-do lists pile up.. forgetting to take time to spend with the Lord and nurture my soul.  Much like an overstressed flower from poor weather conditions-- my soul begins to grow weary-- choked out.  As I become more physically, emotionally, & mentally drained-- my Spirit feels dry and my eyes waver from focusing on the Cross.

Psalm 46:10

¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”

My fellow college students-- the beginning of the school year (moving in, buying books, transitioning, football, syllabus, and classes) is all extremely overwhelming.  All great & positive things (mostly -- minus buying textbooks), but \it all seems to pile-up.  This past week felt like one of the LONGEST weeks of my life.  I moved out of one apartment, back home, then into a new one, all the while working full time and beginning to consider classes.  Add social activities to the mix and BATS (yes bats) -- we had bat issues the first few nights at my new place-- and WHAM... I was wiped out.--- drained--- and fixed my eyes everywhere besides the Cross.  I kept pushing not rest.  

Thus heaven and earth were completed with all their array. On the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating (Gen 2:1-3).

Thankfully I am finding rest and renewal in the Lord.  The last week has taught me how precious relaxation and stillness in the Lord.  Peace from the Spirit is definitely not the lack of chaos but a calm confidence amidst it.  If you're feeling run-down-- overwhelmed.  Take time to breathe and relax.  Take a Sabbath and be still in the Lord.  Let your mind, body & Spirit be renewed and recharged by its Creator.  He has the gas to keep you going-- He can fill you up.  He is the Lord your God.  He wants you to function at your full potential, so don't cheat yourself or Him, by running yourself down...... and I my friends.. need to take my own advice-- well the Lords and do the same.  Make a weekly Sabbath & REST!!!

"Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day" (Deut 5:12-15).

Isaiah 40:28- 31
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”