Restless

 "But I'm restless, I'm restless, 'till I rest in You." 

    My soul connects with the thrashing moody sea in a way it connects with nothing else. Watching the wild waves come crashing in and the wind mercilessly blow anything unstable where ever it chooses, I feel like it understands the turmoil of the human heart. I feel like the chaos in my soul is given permission to rest and I can let the earth and sky do the groaning and thrashing for me. I feel so safe here. I've learned to hold on to and bask in these moments of peace and safety as they pass by and to never take them for granted. The world is a cruel place where sin abounds in heaps and dozens. Even in the church. There is evil and madness and destruction under every tree these days. The vulnerable are crushed and the powerful worshiped. Oh, I get so weary of it all. I long for peace and rest and safety. I know full well 'tis only heaven where these things will be without interruption, so it is for heaven that I am longing with every fiber of my being. 

    I'm not saying we should live under a rock and not stay educated and aware of the goings on in our world, but, we so easily get tangled up in our doctrines and opinions and beliefs that the gospel is no longer our passion. The kingdom is not our heartbeat. Jesus is not our life. And I watch the church slowly disintegrate into opinions and theories being preached over the pulpit and in our meetings instead of Christ. The thrashing continues. Broken people are longing for a cure and hanging on to everything but Jesus and the word of God. I know beyond a shadow of any doubt that we would have so much less deception and chaos in our lives if we read the word like it was our only answer, and if we had a connection with Jesus like He was our only hope. Somewhere along the line we've been fed a cheapened version of Jesus and Him crucified and we've swallowed it. 

    There is another way. A way that is The Way. 

We are welcomed into a rest. We are invited into a rest where our weary souls are no longer tired. Our thrashing hearts and reckless pursuits are quieted and our fears are calmed. Like a boulder on the shore we take every crashing wave with strength and stability, because we are grounded. We know where our rest comes from. Our souls are harbored on a safe shore and no storm and no evil backs us into a corner. Christ and His word is our life's mantra. If there is anything at all other than Christ at the center and core of our lives, friends, we will be restless. Restless and in turmoil. But when we speak only Christ and him crucified everything we say is hope and truth. When we read the Word like it is our only answer, and rely on Jesus like he is our only hope, our hearts and minds are renewed and that deep peace governs our restless souls. That peace that passes all understanding. The world and it's afflictions don't beat us into corners. 

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