I WILL GIVE YOU REST

Today I woke up feeling happy and excited.You know the kind of days that you tell yourself this is the day the Lord has made i will be glad and rejoice in it..That one!As I walked to the bus stop  was whispering in my head, I praise you Lord for I am beautifully and wonderfully made.

It's noon and my heart has just sank. Many thoughts flowing through my mind. Reason: Unknown. I think its just one of those sudden feelings that comes.So I decide to bow my head on my desk for some minutes and to think properly.Some friends say I tend to be overly analytical.

With my head bowed,I began asking myself what has downcast you Oh my soul.Then came the answer.The Stuck feeling. The feeling that I am not where am supposed to be. The empty feeling like the wheels of my life are stuck in mud.

Just as I am sharing with a friend "my discovery", a beautiful Scripture comes to me that says

That's when it dawns on me that when Christ said He will give us rest, He was referring to  literally every burden. Including the burdens of feelings.The inadequacies of everyday.

I felt the urge to write this to encourage you who is feeling stuck in life, you are feeling inadequate, you feel like your life is losing direction, you feel burdened and bogged down by many thoughts,Christ is saying you can go to Him and He will give you rest.He will give you the peace of heart and mind.

Life is tough I know.No wonder Christ wants to give you rest.

HE AIN'T ON BREAK

I was reading the Scripture about Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 this morning and I thought of sharing a few things.

So now the altar is set.Elijah gives the prophets the opportunity to win.He lets them choose their 'favorite' bull and allows them to take their sweet (well am not sure if it was sweet) time to call on their god.They call on their god till noon and no response.I found myself comparing their frustration to   that one gets when you ask for a service and you get the message Server not found.

  
Elijah then asks them in Verse 27. 

 “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”

As if they took the advise seriously the prophets actually cried aloud .They even started cutting themselves.They continued their theatrics and gymnastics till evening to no avail.

Then came Elijah’s turn. He tried to make the battle tougher for himself by daring the prophets to pour a lot of water on both the wood and the sacrifice.The prophets must have been eagerly waiting for Elijah to fail.Yet Elijah made a simple prayer. In Vs 36-37

“Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.

Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and       that you are turning their hearts back again.”

Immediately the fire came down and consumed the sacrifice.And the people fell and worshipped God

What stood out for me as I read through this story is the fact that God is invincible. That which took the prophets of Baal hours and theatrics to not achieve took Elijah only a prayer to conquer and surpass the expectation

I was reminded of Daniel 3:17-18

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

It must have taken Elijah a lot of faith in God for him to challenge the Baal prophets and that is the same kind of faith that we are to have .It was strong confidence in God that gave the three men the audacity to look at the king straight in the eye and let him know that they would not bow to his god. Throughout the Bible whenever people dared to fully trust God, He came through for them.

Perhaps as Elijah mocked the prophets, the Baal might have actually been busy traveling or asleep.    Isn't it relieving to know that we can always get through to God? That He never sleeps He never slumbers He is never too busy to hear us. He is never on safari.

  
Friend, I thought of reminding you of God; The Almighty God. That as David says He is an ever present help in times of need.You might be in a situation that has left you wondering where is God. Well the truth is God is right there with you and He will see you through it.He ain't on break.