Are You Looking for Rest?

There is just something about the ocean that is calming and peaceful, especially under a beautiful moonlit night sky. The quietness, the gentle breezes blowing through the sea grasses, the moon shining down upon the ocean’s water, the sound of the tides washing upon the beach.

But, if you have ever been to the ocean then you also know that it can be unpredictable, turbulent, dangerous. The tide comes in and then it back goes out; it ebbs and flows. One minute the water is not even up to your knees and then all of a sudden it is over your head, you almost drown. One wave gently tosses you around and you are having fun. But the next wave, it is a really big one, and the force of the water flips you upside down, pounds you into the ocean floor and you come up wondering what just happened. You need to re-adjust your swimsuit, it is in places it shouldn’t be and not places it should be. That evening, as you shower, there is so much sand on the shower floor, you wonder if you have brought the beach with you.

Life is the same way. One minute things are calm and peaceful and then without notice a big wave or two or three or four comes and turns you upside down. You lose your breath and find yourself disoriented from all the pounding you are taking. You just hope that you can find your way back to the shore. You have been there, right? Maybe you are there right now. 

With the world in so much chaos, it is hard not to feel disoriented. Seemingly in every direction we turn these days there is something to keep us unsettled. And can we all agree, the holiday season is hardly conducive to offering a state of inner calmness. It takes great effort, it requires being intentional, to find serenity and peace amid the holiday madness. So, is there a solution? I am glad you asked.   

The Bible tells us that when, from our vantage point, things seem out of control that God has things under control. He can and does calm the waves. Psalm 89:9 tells us this, “You rule over the surging sea; when the waves mount up, you still them.” Elsewhere, we see a similar message, “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed” (Psalm 107:29).

In offering hopeful words about God rejoicing over his saved people, the prophet Zephaniah says this, “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (3:17). 

The gospels of Matthew and Mark both tell the story of Jesus calming the seas. Here is what we read in Matthew’s telling of the story, “Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm” (8:26b). If you want to read those two stories – Matthew 8:23-27 and Mark 4:35-41.

The same Jesus who calmed the waves and the seas promises to do the same for you – sometimes calming the unpredictable waters around you while other times calming you in those dangerous waters.

Are you looking for rest?

If you said yes, then this Advent Season, amid the turbulence in you and around you, why not lean into Jesus. He says to you today – Come to me, all who are weary, worn out, worn down, unsettled, tired of the daily churn, fearful, sick, lonely, depressed, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28-30).

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