Lisa is frightened by storms. The other day when it was storming so bad, she tried to get in the shower with me. She trembles and tries to get as close to flesh as she can. If she is home alone, she will find a secluded spot in the closet. Some nights I am awakened by Lisa panting.
The storms of life overwhelm us. Some storms are relationships that have been destroyed. Some storms are financial. Too many of us know the storms of darkness found in the soul that struggles with emotional unrest. The storms find us. We create storms that wreck lives by our own poor choices. We find ourselves like the disciples crying out to the Lord, "Do you not care that we are perishing?"
Psalm 23 has some many gems in it that wait to be uncovered. One of the gems that I have discovered is in the words, "he makes me lie down...." During the most anxious times of life, God wants us to rest in God's presence. There is great power to be found in those moments.
At one point in ministry, I found myself stopping at a four way stop on the way home from the church. At that stop sign, I would imagine taking all the burdens of the church I was serving (which were many!!) and leaving them on the stop sign there. Sometimes I stayed at that stop sign a long time. That intersection became for me a place where I "unloaded" so that I could rest. The next day I would pick them up again on the way to the office. Some days they were all there again. Other days it seemed as though some had disappeared. I certainly do not remember them multiplying! The act of "unloading" was intimately tied to the concept of resting my soul. God made me lie down.
Do you find yourself in a storm that seems to be overwhelming? Are the waters of life rising faster than you can swim? Has your get up and go disappeared? God has an answer for you.
Rest. Rest in the arms of the loving God who can empower you. Physically renew yourself. Spiritually let your soul breath. Rest.
Lord, make me lie down.....
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