Be Still

I went to a girl's retreat this weekend and it was wonderful! I don't think I've been to something like this since "Freedom Weekend" at Prestonwood when I was in high school. I was such a great time to not only meet new people, but also get refreshed and learn new things about God.

There were two main things that really stuck with me, though there were so many great point I ran out of paper. ;) The first is the Hebrew meaning of "be still" in Psalm 46:10. It is one of the first verses that we learn, yet I never realized that it didn't mean just sit there. In Hebrew, as one of our speakers explained, "be still" is described as an image of letting go of a rope or a lifeline. To literally let go of what we are trusting instead of God.

After hearing her explanation, I was so amazed when I re-read that verse, in my head hearing the definition. "Be still (let go) and know that I am God." I actually heard it more personally though. I heard it as "let go of your control and know that I am God." I started hearing a lot of different things that I was holding on to instead of God, and I realized that I really did need to rest in him. I need to rest completely, letting go of everything else, and just being with God.

I thought it was interesting, also, that our speaker pointed out that in the story of the woman at the well, John 4: 6 says, "Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon." Jesus himself, God who became man, grew tired from long journeys and rested. !!! Isn't that an amazing relief!?

I know I often feel guilty when I lay down to rest when there are other things I could be doing. I mean tonight is a perfect example. I could be in bed, but instead I knew that I should probably send out emails to our small groups about this coming semester. Then I realized that our toll tags needed to be updated so that we wont get penalties, and of course I HAD to write a post about rest. (Yes its ironic)

As I close out this post, I want to revisit the concept of rest. It is so crucial that we allow ourselves to rest. We all need those moments, small as they can be sometimes, to just breath and relax. I feel like in this day-in-age, we are so use to going, going, going, that we never stop to realize how exhausted we are. I know I told my husband tonight that I am just exhausted. When new situations come up, I feel like I have no energy to deal with them. I feel like I just get frustrated and want to quit everything.

I know that's not the right attitude. I know that a better response would be to graciously pray for wisdom to deal with every new situation. (Did you catch the grace?) I am too often focused on how busy I am and how overwhelmed I am, that I forget that I can, in some part, decide to be less "busy" with all that life can be sometimes.

When is the last time you took a break? When is the last time you truly let go of something you were holding on to instead of fully trusting God?