Be At Rest Oh My Soul
Be At Rest Oh My Soul
Have you ever stopped and spoken to your soul? Interesting question but one worthy of consideration. I was sitting in the greenhouse watching the birds and the squirrels. The birds are intriguing.
The squirrels? They and I have a love-hate relationship. Although I must admit it is moving more to love than hate these days. The Greenhouse is nestled in among trees and brings about a sense of well-being and peace.
Sitting for a time my glance landed on the Bible open to a passage where I have been camping out for a while. Sitting back in my chair I allow my thoughts to drift as I read each line.
Join me:
“I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came upon me;
I was overcome by trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
‘O LORD, save me!’
The LORD is gracious and righteous
Our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the simple-hearted;
when I was in great need, he saved me.
Be at rest once more, O my soul,
For the Lord has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
I believed; therefore I said,
I am greatly afflicted.
And in my dismay I said,
‘All men are liars.’
How can I repay the LORD
for all his goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
And call on the name of the LORD.
I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
In the presence of all his people.”
As I read these verses my memories washed over me like soft impressionistic images of the times in my life that the words so aptly apply.
“The Lord heard me and answered my cry.” The image that came to my mind was sitting in an alley in Detroit by myself asking God to hear my cry, heal my heart. I had been raped. I didn’t have a clue how to get through all that came with that one egregious act of violence. The story surrounding me is not nearly as important or defining as God answering in that still small voice. I knew He was there. Over the next several years God showed me that the rape or surrounding circumstances didn’t define me. What He said about me in His Word did define me.
It took time not because God wasn’t willing but because sometimes I was unable to hear of His love for me. God did not take away my freedom to choose nor did He take away others freedom to choose; even those that meant evil. What God did was walk me through the circumstances in my life so I could get to freedom, grace, and peace in my heart. Life wasn’t perfect. It was not without conflict or pain but there was peace in my heart that was indescribable.
“The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: ‘O LORD, save me!’ The LORD is gracious and righteous Our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.”
I have had a spouse die. At first, I thought that was what God was referring to but He wasn’t. There was a time when I was just a young Christian living in a violently abusive marriage. I went to a pastor and said I could no longer live in the abuse. His response was “If you had enough faith, you could live through anything.” Years later he publicly apologized to me. But in the midst of the violence, I knew I couldn’t continue.
So, I knelt down and told the Lord I could no longer walk with Him because I couldn’t bear the abuse any longer. The picture I had in my head was Christ standing there, no words just tears running down His face.
Three months later I was in treatment for alcohol and this was a time that God and I had an understanding. My sin wasn’t my divorce. It was that I didn’t believe He could walk me through that place too. He didn’t call me or any of us to live in abuse. That is not His plan or desire for our lives. In treatment, I told God “If You could forgive me for all my sins, I will serve You the rest of my life and never turn away again.” But I needed to know He did. When I woke the next morning I knew that I knew I was forgiven. It was three months between my walking away from God and my return. They were the darkest days I had ever lived. It was black and without hope. The “walking dead”.
“For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, My eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”
A few years later a woman in her late 70’s early 80’s remarked that “when we pray, you get lost in prayer. It seems that you are sitting right with God talking to Him. How is it that you so young (I was 26 at the time) would have such a deep love and relationship with God?” My answer was quick and simple “I know what it is like to live without Him and I could not live in that place again.”
God uses all the circumstances; good, bad, or indifferent to create in us strength, love, and peace in our hearts that can change the world if we choose to be in relationship with Him.
God doesn’t take away our freedom to choose. That is a fact. He is not responsible for the choices we or others make. That is a fact as well. But what He promises is that He will be there when we turn to Him with arms wide open. He assures us that He will walk through all our difficulties, struggles, and painful places giving us grace, wisdom, strength, and hope that breaks the plans the enemy of our souls has designed for us.
Time has passed. I have been sober for 41 years. I never turned away from God as I promised that one life-changing night when I was in treatment. My life is rich with laughter and tears, joy and sadness, love and loss, successes and failures, and peace deep in my being only God can give and grow. I have kids, grandkids, foster kids, and a very special husband that is God’s gift to me. I had a “spiritual mom – mentor – grandma to my kids” that loved me with unconditional love.
I have rest in my soul. It is real because this young girl cried out to God in the midst of her pain and He answered her. I again remember, “Be at rest once more, O my soul, For the Lord has been good to you.”
Can you consider speaking to your soul and telling it to “be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you?”
