Have you ever heard the phrase "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink"? I always wondered why one would not want to drink when they are led to that water. It's the same with the Lord. He leads us to quiet places of rest (still waters), but the noise of this world becomes more enticing and leads us away from that rest.
God has never forced anyone to enjoy His rest. Instead, He gently leads us there and allows us to choose if we will drink from the living water. We get to choose if we will abide in His rest. Psalm 23:1-2 "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters." The Hebrew for this says "He leads me besides waters of rest."
The past two days, I chose to do it my way. No time to sit still in His word for too long. No time to sit in His presence. No time to sit in prayer, either listening or requesting. I feel the difference today. All along, He is gently leading me "Now is the time to seek Me." I had time, but decided to fill that time with noisiness.
Rest is not elusive. It is available to us at any time, any day. God is continually offering it to us, drawing us in. It is up to us to walk in it and accept God's call to rest.
What is keeping you from going to the waters of rest today? Will you take a few minutes and invite God into your midst? Ask Him to lead you today. I promise, you (and I) won't regret His leading.
Father, we commit our days to you. We give them over to you today. Thank you for leading us beside still waters of rest. Thank you for drawing us in to your presence daily. We lay down our noise, our busyness and everything that competes for our attention to draw us away from you. We lay it all down at your feet, and ask you to lead us, be Lord over it all. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Thanks for the Tozer quote. I never considered God using meekness to lead us into rest. Something to consider and savor.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that a wonderful quote? It made me really think about how God doesn't force us into anything. He leads us quietly into His rest and allows us to choose if we will follow Him to it. I'm so glad you stopped by! Blessings!
DeleteAmen! Mondays and Tuesdays are crazy days for me, and your post is like a pool of..well...still water. I can end up making the days busier and more stressful than they need to be. Thank you for the reminder to rest. To enter in to the peace God offers. He doesn't give us a head slap--he just whispers in our ear. I like that.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Anita! I know I'm guilty of making my weeks busier than they need to be. This post was a very personal challenge to myself. I'm so glad it blessed you, too! Have a wonderful week!
DeleteThank you for your gracious words. I have been meditating on Psalm 23 for a LOOONG time now. What struck me this winter was he *makes* me lie down. He made me lie down when I got sick because I wasn't taking the time I needed to rest. Or rather, he made me realize I needed to lie down or I wouldn't be able to keep going.
ReplyDeleteSo, that's what I've been learning! :) I'm so grateful that God gives us rest. In it I have found his grace to me this year.
I'll just say Psalm 23 is my favorite Psalm. There is so much depth there about the faithfulness of God toward His sheep. I'm so thankful that you stopped by today! Blessings!
DeleteAhhhhhh ... how easy it is to forego that time with Jesus - that time of rest in the face of exhaustion, chaos, and a to-do list a mile long! Thank you for the beautiful reminder!
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Thanks for leaving your blog link, Lori! I always like to visit the people who stop by, but don't always have a link. It IS so easy to forego that time with the Lord, but when I make time for Him, everything else in my life is calm and at rest. I wish I could just imprint that in my brain! Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteSuch an inspiring post! Thank you. I've always been dealing with the noise and chaos of the world. I'm just glad we have a God who brings us calmness and peace that nothing on this earth can.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great post! I've been thinking about Ps 23 the whole week! Have a blessed day!
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