Rest Replenished in Hope

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. – (Psalm 62:5, NIV)

God, the One and only – I’ll wait as long as He says. Everything I hope for comes from Him, so why not? – (Psalm 62:5, MSG)

My soul quietly waits for the True God alone because I hope in only Him. – (Psalm 62:5, VOICE)

As an educator during a pandemic, this has been the truth I have come to know even more than ever before. It is in Christ that I find rest and hope, even on the days that our circumstances felt hopeless. Yesterday was our final day of live and Zoom instruction, and today is an asynchronous day that provides time to tie up loose ends, and work to complete final grading. Tomorrow, we report for one final day to aid in the collection of materials being returned, and to close up our classrooms for the summer. Friday will be the final day of gymnastics, utilized for returning all of our equipment to storage until next year’s season begins. I am beyond grateful for the summer season that provides rest. Though there is a variety of training and such scheduled throughout the time off, there is still time to truly take pause, recognize the goodness of God, and really rest. The beautiful thing about the rest that God provides, is that He does not need vacation nor weekends to make it so. We simply must quiet our soul before Him, for He is our hope and our Provider of rest. God is faithful, and He does what He says He will do. May we quiet our souls before Him and wait on the rest that comes from Him, the One in whom we hold our hope.

My soul does find rest,

In the Lord alone;

As my heart seeks Him,

His love is made known.

The space where hope’s held,

When we seek the Lord;

Is flooded with love,

As goodness is shown.

Trust in His goodness,

Hold hope in His grace;

He’s true to His word,

When we seek His face.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your loving kindness and faithfulness that provide us hope and rest as we seek You. Thank You for moments and seasons of rest. Forgive us for lumbering on in exhaustion, rather than slowing down to see Your true provision of rest. Teach us to turn to You in trust, and wait quietly before You, resting in Your presence. Show us how to come alongside those around us in ways that offer relief and evidence of Your overwhelming love. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we wait on You and praise You for Your blessed provision of real rest. Amen.

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

In You, Lord my God, I put my trust. – Psalm 25:1

To Be Resolute

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. – (Colossians 2:6-7, NIV)

You accepted Christ Jesus as Lord, so continue to live following Him. You must depend on Christ only, drawing life and strength from Him. Just as you were taught the truth, continue to grow stronger in your understanding of it. And never stop giving thanks to God. – (Colossians 2:6-7, ERV)

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you’ve been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live Him. You’re deeply rooted in Him. You’re well-constructed upon Him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you’ve been taught. School’s out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill into thanksgiving. – (Colossians 2:6-7, MSG)

 

When we accept Christ into our lives and allow Him to be Lord, we become rooted and constructed in Him. Our design is to walk out our faith in all that we do and all that we are, and as we do, gratitude grows and overflows from the core of who we are becoming in Christ. May we ever seek to be strengthened in our faith and remain constant in our thankfulness to God.

Mom and I kept missing each other with our attempts at calling yesterday, but we did exchange text messages a few times during the day. Each time I receive a message from her, gratitude to God rises, as I know how overwhelming even the thought of sending a text message was a few short months ago. Though I know that progress feels extraordinarily slow, it is in the moments when I am able to see tangible evidence of things that were once seeming impossibilities, have again becoming part of mom’s daily life. I trust that God will continue all that He has begun in her healing process, and am beyond grateful for the blessings that I can already see right now.

 

Choose live in the Lord,

Allow faith take root;

Nourish and water,

In Christ, resolute.

The Lord will strengthen,

Grow our hearts in Him;

Overflow with thanks,

For His love within.

By grace, He shows us,

Love all of our days;

For His strength and peace,

Let us choose give praise.

 

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You that when we invite you in, You come and strengthen us and grow roots in our hearts in Your truth. Thank You that for these things and more, we have reason to continuously give You praise. Forgive us for allowing our challenges to distract us from the reality of who You are. Teach us to trust You more, so that we would overflow with gratitude; always. Show us how to love those around us well, so that they would be strengthened and encouraged and hunger after You. May many come into a lasting relationship with You. Be glorified O God, as we thank You for growing us deeper in You and granting us the strength that we need each new day. Amen.

 

© Shannon Elizabeth Grabrick and Revelations in Writing, May 2011 – present

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. – 1 Chronicles 16:34