Rest In Peace
The amazing thing about being fascinated by words is that I find myself taking time out to really listen to what's being said. A few weeks ago I happened to think about "sayings" we use, and one that kept coming to mind was the phrase "Rest In Peace".
We're all aware of when and how this phrase is used, but it got me thinking, why do I need to wait for death to rest in peace, can't I do so now?
Both Rest and Peace are to be enjoyed right now, in the present. For me, both my Rest and my Peace is Jesus Christ.
In my life, I have experienced the Peace of Jesus in the most difficult of times and in the most pleasant of times (you'd be surprised how much of His peace it takes to also enjoy the good).
Peace in these times may seem distant and unattainable, but I tell you, in the midst of a storm is where Jesus' peace is the sweetest. We have nothing to worry about, as the verse above says we can sleep/rest peacefully, unafraid of what may come (I'll extend this to say, we can also find peaceful rest in our activities, shopping, eating etc. because of Jesus).
Here are some notes I jotted a few days ago:
It's OK to feel fear and worry, so long as we do not dwell in these emotions, instead we must find our way to the feet of Christ, sharing our emotions with Him. He knows exactly how we feel.
God uses our emotions to show us how 'small', yet significant we are in the big picture, how we handle our emotions is evidence that we're finite, in comparison to God. In other words, God is bigger than our emotions and therefore much more capable of helping us handle them.
Even in sadness we can praise and thank God. We can actually thank Him for our sadness because it reveals that we need Him to be our happiness and joy. Our sadness, given to God, makes more room for Him to refine us to make us more like Him.
We find sadness in bad news
We find fear in uncertainty
We find restlessness in limitations
But above all, we can choose to find God in it all.
So rest in the knowledge that Jesus is our Peace. He has got us safely in His hands.
Stay Safe, Stay Home
Stay Prayed Up
Stay Rested in Peace
Stay in the Love of Jesus
