Are You Resting??

Read Psalm 23

Many offices in the world today are busy places where things sometimes feel like they are moving at breakneck speed. This often involves meeting after meeting, hallway conferences, and an avalanche of e-mail.
In the midst of this extreme busyness, I sometimes feel the need to escape, to decompress. My response? I create a quiet place. On those days when I have no lunch meeting or a break in the day, I retreat to the quiet of my car. I grab some lunch and sit in my car, where I can read, listen to music, think, pray—and be refreshed.
I think this is the essence of what the shepherd-psalmist points to in Psalm 23:2. He sees the Good Shepherd bringing him to “still waters”—that is, waters to rest by. It pictures a quiet place, a retreat from the pressures of life, where you can rest in the presence of the Shepherd of your heart and be strengthened for what lies ahead. Even Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to pray and commune with His Father (Mark 1:35).
We all need retreats in our lives, not only because of the overwhelming nature of life, but because of our dependence on the resources of the Master. In our fast-paced days, it is essential to find a place of solitude, “a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.”
It is often difficult to do because it goes against every fiber in you to sit and do nothing but get rest. Many people are sick so often because they do not take the time to stop. Often people take “vacations” to find rest, but they return more exhausted because they filled their schedule to the hilt to get in all they can. The only vacation that is real rest is to do just that; vacate. Get away from everybody, and find the still water and lay down in the hammock, and rest.
It is in those quiet times that the Lord’s spirit will rush over you and refresh you. You may begin to quote some scripture you learned, or you may start to whistle a song. Whatever you end up doing, you cannot do any of it without vacating. Where is your quiet place?

There is a place of quiet rest,
Near to the heart of God,
A place where sin cannot molest,
Near to the heart of God. —McAfee

“The minute anyone's getting anxious I say, You must eat and you must sleep. They're the two vital elements for a healthy life.”
-Francesca Annis