"The Place Of Rest"

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Acts 3:19 

We all need times to get away where we can be refreshed and regroup. We need times of solitude and quiet where we can rest our bodies and clear our minds. But taking a trip or vacation is not always the answer. Have you heard anyone say, "I need a vacation to rest up from my vacation."? Leaving the familiar and routine and getting a change of scenery is fine if you can do it, but it isn't our answer. It does help and there is nothing wrong with doing it. But there is only one place where we find true rest and refreshing. It is in the presence of the Lord. "To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear." (Isaiah 28:12)

 

Jesus showed us by example where this place was. If anyone needed a rest, and a break, it was Jesus. He was constantly surrounded by people wanting something from Him. He couldn't eat or sleep without someone right there all the time. Yet, He was always "refreshed", it never got "the best of Him". That place was in the presence of the Father. Often, He would get away, go up to a mountain, the other side of the sea, or stay up all night to commune with His Father. This is where we find the rest that we need. Like the old hymn says-- "There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God." 

 

"For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." (Jeremiah 31:25) We may not be able to go somewhere away from the place of demands upon us, but we can go straight into the presence of the Lord and find rest and refreshing for our weariness. The rest that He gives is complete-- not a little rest. It refreshes our whole spirit, soul and body. He satiates us and replenishes us when we ask. He causes us to no longer be weary but instead we receive the strength to "mount up with wings like eagles. So that we can run and not be weary, walk and not faint." 

 

There is no better place on earth to receive the rest that we need and are looking for, than in the presence of the Lord. The best thing about it is that you don't have to make reservations-- there is always a place available for you. You don't have to travel far to get there-- just the distance to your knees. It doesn't cost one cent-- it has been paid for through the blood of Jesus. And you can always go there at any time.

 

Have a great day. Do you need a break? Do you need a rest? Do you need to be refreshed? There is a place where you can find perfect rest. It's in the Presence of God. 

 

For further reading:

Isaiah 40:31