REST

PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS

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What does it mean to find rest for your weary soul? What does resting in the Lord look like in your busy and chaotic life? 

The truth is, there is not one form of resting in the Lord, just as there is not one form of service to the Lord. The Lord provides the rest that we need, given our nature and circumstances.

Example

As an example, take the normal form of rest that our bodies need in this life. Some of us (my wife) need a bunch of sleep and even a few naps to keep ourselves going at an optimal pace while others of us (me). If we assume that rest looks the exact same in every situation, then we are going to cause damage to one another with our misplaced assumptions. 

Allow

When we think about finding rest for our weary souls we must allow for the Lord to provide this rest for each of us according to the unique ways that HE has made us. My form of resting in the Lord will look different from yours. Neither of us are doing it “wrong” so long as we are both seeking to find the rest that the Lord alone provides. 

Expressed

This idea was expressed well in the following passage:

1 Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.

2 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. 

(Psalm 62:1-2 NIV11)

Salvation

One of the most important forms of rest we can find in the Lord is the certainty of being included in the work of Jesus Christ. When we trust in the sacrifice, grace, and mercy of Jesus for our salvation and for the forgiveness of our debt of sin before the Lord, we are able to find real rest in the completed action of salvation. 

Provision

Added to this kind of eternal confidence in the completed actions of the Christ, we can find rest in the various provisions of the Lord. 

As you prayerfully read through Psalm 23, listen for the forms of provision that are found nowhere else except in the work of the Great Shepherd: 

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 

4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(Psalm 23:1-6 NIV11)

Green

In verse 2, we hear that the Lord “makes me lie down in green pastures”.

There is more to be learned here than just that the Lord provides. We need to catch the force of the action. The Hebrew carries with it a sense that the Shepherd forces the flock to stop their constant movement, as he forces the flock to lie down and rest. 

This is not easy to do.

Grazing

If you take a flock of goats or sheep out into a field full of fresh, green, tasty grass they are just going to keep grazing for as long as possible. Especially if you live in a dry land where there are not a lot of green available to you. 

So the image being given here is this, the Shepherd provides what we need most. This provision includes the goodness of the “green grass,” but this good gift from the Lord cannot be fully enjoyed and experienced unless we also allow the Lord to provide us with the opportunity to rest. 

Unique

As mentioned earlier, the rest that the Lord provides as our Great Shepherd does not look or feel the same from person to person and from age to age. At different times of life and in different circumstances we need different forms of God’s gift of rest. 

•   What are you experiencing today that is wearing you out?
•   How can the Lord provide you rest in this unique time of your life?
•   Be specific. 
•   Ask the Lord to help you see the green grass beneath your feet. 
•   Ask the Lord to help you find his gift of rest in your life today. 

In Christ, 

Ryan Laden

PASTOR RYAN LADEN

Works at MTN. CHURCH

Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church

Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary

Studied at Baylor University

Studied at Texas Tech University

Went to Castle Hills First Baptist

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