And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17
I'm not one for resting, sitting, napping or sleeping in. If I get too tired I think something is wrong and then my husband quickly reminds me that I've been running in a million different directions for too long so should sit and take a break.
I used to think that resting meant a time out, like I had been bad or was being punished for not doing something perfect. I thought if I rested that meant I was useless and wasn't contributing to society or community or anything.
It's only been in the last couple of years that God has shown me otherwise. Resting is so much more than being stationary or sedentary or a taking a break from something (although there are seasons of physical rest too). Over the course of the last couple of years God has shown me His definition of beauty and it comes from resting in who He is in our lives and what He is wanting to do through our lives and who we are in Him. It doesn't necessarily have to mean we physically sit and rest.
When we stop striving for our idea of perfection, or other people's approval or appreciation, when we stop trying to be the whole show or center stage that is when we can rest in who God is. We rest in what He is doing and we simply get to give our lives to Him and play a part in His story.
It really takes the pressure off of performing and striving to get it "right" all the time. Isn't that way too much pressure anyways? Trying to be right all the time? It's exhausting to feel like we have to have all the answers, fix every situation and get everything to fit into our idea of perfection. Sure, we are to do everything in excellence but when that becomes our idol and goal we have really missed the point of serving God because He is good. We are doing it because we want to be good and get the credit instead of giving credit to Him because He is good.
It is so much easier to rest and know that He is God and He has it and we don't need to worry about how He will work it all out. We can trust that His Word says He will work it all out, He does go ahead of us and He will direct our every step. There is so much more peace, rest and confidence when we listen to Him and decide to walk in His ways without trying to do it on our own.
So today trust and rest. Know that His beauty will be on you as He works in and through you to accomplish His work (because, honestly, it never really was ours to begin with)!
