Day 7

So it's kinda hard to think of new things to write each day. Makes me glad I only write like this once a year rather than full-time! My thoughts could take many different forms tonight, but tonight it's gonna go towards rest. Do I steward rest well? Rest can be in the form of physical (am I exhausted or rested), emotional (am I burdened or set free), spiritual (am I beaten down and battled or victorious), and mental (am I confused or do I have clarity)?

- Psalm 22:2 "My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest."
- Psalm 62:1 "Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him."
- Psalm 62:5 "Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him."

These are just a couple of verses I found on rest (there's obviously hundreds more), and there's definitely two different tones. One is full of peace saying "hope and salvation comes from him." The other cries a different story saying "I find no rest, though I seek you." It seems like in this Christian life, we always strive to achieve rest and peace. In fact, the two are often synonyms for each other. However, what if part of our rest comes in the struggle? What if we can't really know the true rest that God offers us unless we go through the pains and heartaches? Just like we can't know what something really sweet tastes like unless we put it next to something salty or bitter or plain, we can't fully know what rest is like if we don't go through a state of unrest or crisis or strife. Reminds me of the adage, "the shadow proves the sunshine". You can't have one and ignore the other. So very simply, do I steward rest well? Do I embrace all the parts that come with allowing me to understand and appreciate rest, or do I ignore the things that are painful and gut-wrenching and just focus on the superficial notions of rest that tend to blow away with any wind of discomfort or circumstance?

And now, I will go rest, because God knows, the last two days I've been embracing the discomfort and confusion!