Rest for the people of God

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. Hebrews 4:9

Sitting at home and listening to the rain pouring down, the winds howling and the thunder blasting, seeing the lighting crack the dark skies, I am reminded of the state of my heart. Trouble, rumblings, worries, decisions... my storm raging inside a worse picture of that outside my window. Then a word drops in my heart ... "there remaineth a rest". And I am reminded, that there is more to life than worries and sorrows, there is more than excitement and motion, sometimes in focusing on 'doing' we loose sight of who God has called us to 'be'.

There may be situations of conflict, turmoil, storms raging within and without... but this promise we have from God, that 'there is a rest for the the people of God'. 

This rest is provided for us by God and we choose to enter it... a place of ceasing from all our 'works', from 'doing'; a place of transition to that state of 'being' ... 'being' at rest. 

At rest in His will, at rest in his plans, truly trusting though we cannot see what lies ahead.
Knowing that the future is His and his plans for us are always good. It's not over until God says so. 

Let's cease from striving, the results are fickle and temporal. Move into the place of His rest, abide in the peace He gives.
Live, Move and Be at rest for there remains a rest for the people of God.

And in the words of my dear devotional...

There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music. In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests. During those rests, we foolishly believe we have come to the end of the song. God sends us time of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts. He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymns of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent. We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator. Yet how does a musician read the rest? He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause were ever there.

God does not write the music of our lives without a plan. Our part is to learn the tune and not be discouraged during the rests. They are not to be slurred over or omitted, nor used to destroy the melody or to change the key. If we will only look up, God Himself will count the time for us. With our eyes on Him, our next note will be full and clear. If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, "There is no music in a rest," let us not forget that the rest is part of the making of the music. The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us! And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
--John Ruskin

From Streams in the Desert