“This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ Therefore you will flee! You said, ‘We will ride off on swift horses.’ Therefore your pursuers will be swift. A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee away, till you are left like a flagstaff on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.”
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Isaiah 30:15-18

Life can be hard. Every day we face dozens of choices, pressures of work undone, the voice in our head that says, ‘don’t stop, go, go, go.’ When I feel the weight of the tasks before me I tend to push harder, run faster, and stretch myself further. When the weight becomes unbearable, I then become ready to mount my horse and flee as far as I can. But however fast we run whether to catch up or get ahead we will just end up feeling defeated when we try and do the impossible on our own. This last weekend I was blessed with a restful getaway with some close friends. For 2 whole days we left the distractions of our daily lives and filled our days instead with good conversation, games, food, sleep, movies, more food, and reflections on how the Lord’s hand has been at work in each of our lives. We left on Sunday feeling rested, refreshed, and stuffed to the limit. And although, yes, we did travel to a place that was free from our daily tasks to have a restful weekend… the beauty of rest is that we do not always have to getaway and escape. The Lord offers rest even in the hustle and bustle of daily living through offering Himself and His promises. The Lord does not promise that life will be easy or fair. Praise God that it is not, because it is through obstacles that we are broken and reminded of our great need for Jesus. And although the Lord does not promise a life of ease, He does promise grace, love, mercy and a deeper relationship with Him.