Rest in Christ

This past week I had a friend share with me that we have to choose to rest in Christ.  We have to make the conscious decision to partake in that rest. I was challenged to search out what that meant.  What should resting in Christ look like in my life?

In Hebrews 4 it talks about God’s creation and on the seventh day He rested.  God’s rest is there for us to enter, but we have to choose it through obedience.  “So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labor, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fail.” Hebrews 4:9-11

In Genesis 2 it mentions that God took the seventh day to rest.  It is interesting to point out that on every other day of creation it mentions that the evening passed and the morning came, but not on the seventh day.   Our rest in Christ never ends. I was so encouraged to discover this, but I realized that I rarely feel like I am getting to rest.  The closest thing I have felt to that was the 4 days of my second to last hospitalization that I can't remember at all due to being overly medicated.  I am always asking for a time of rest.  I pray that God will provide me with a time of health so that I can rebuild my strength and not live in weakness all the time.  This last year it has felt that the rest never came.  I have almost consistently been on IV antibiotics, in the hospital, on steroids, or having a PICC line in my arm.  I didn't understand that part of the asking for rest was that I needed to choose to enter into it.  The rest doesn't just happen and it doesn't always take the form I think it should.  Entering into rest is done in faith.  It is having faith that God will equip me with all that I need to accomplish all that He has asked me to do.  I don't have to stress, worry, or fear.  It also means listening to God and being in communication with Him so that I only take on the responsibilities that He has asked me to.

I have taken comfort in choosing rest in God this week and it has been a blessing.  My heart and mind were overwhelmed with the distractions of life.  I was overwhelmed with school and placing too much focus on my imperfections as a student.  Most of these imperfections I couldn’t help because I was on pain medications and it was important for my health to come first.  I started out behind because I was in the hospital and I allowed the tower of homework to overwhelm me. 

I was challenged this week to identify my distractions, the things that were not necessarily bad things, but things that were distracting me from God.  Of course the first thing that came to my mind was school.  It seems like the cheesy incorrect answer, my “work” would come to mind.  But, I was on the right track.  It wasn’t that I need to get rid of school, but I was using it as an outlet for my stress.  School is one of the few things that I hold onto because it helps me relate to others my age, but it also is something I feel I have control over.  I am the one who works for the good grades.  My focus on performing well in this area of my life was my distraction.  It is easy for me to trust God with my health; I don’t allow it to stress me out too much because I know that I have absolutely no control over it.  School is a different story.  I think that I take all of the pent up worry, stress, and fear and deflect it from my disease to my schoolwork.  I let the stress overwhelm and consume me.

I have had people ask me why I am in school.  Why am I still pursuing a degree?  There are a few different reasons.  It gives me a sense of normalcy.  This is that “real world” I can be a part of.  It allows me to relate to my friends. 

Also, I have always taken pride in my education.  Throughout my life I have had a lot of difficult obstacles to overcome and the first thing that everyone tells me to give up on is my education.  I get a great deal of satisfaction by proving people wrong.  People’s disbelief in me is often a great motivator.  Up until college I kept up with my class.  I found a way to catch up, to keep up, and I am by no means ready to give up.

The last reason why I am pursuing my degree is because I have a dream.  I want to work for an international adoption agency.  I believe that God gave this dream to me and He has called me to get a degree to properly pursue that dream.  I don’t know the number of my days, but just because it might appear the years will be few, I will never stop living life. 

So in the midst of my stress over school I have chosen to seek rest in Christ.  In Hebrews 3:19 it says that the Israelites were not able to enter into God’s rest because of their disbelief.  This week I have chosen to trust that if God has given me my dream, then with His help I will not fail.  Sometimes where God wants my focus isn’t pouring my all into one aspect of my life.  Yes, I need to study and I need to do my homework, but once that is done it is not necessary for me to analyze it. 

It has been brought to my attention that this term is going to look different and that is okay.  Not because I am taking fewer credits, not because school isn’t important, not because I am healthy or unhealthy, but because maybe God has a different plan for my work this term.  I don’t know if that is writing or relationships or traveling around the country looking for a facility that will transplant me.  What I do know is that right now, this day, this week, I am choosing to rest in Christ.  I am taking time to do the things my heart desires.  I am making cookies for my brother and dinner for my parents.  I am reading my Bible more and hiding away from people who are sick.  I am resting in the harmony that my body is in and not worrying waiting for something to go wrong.

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, your prayers make ALL the difference!  My lung function has improved to 51%!!!! I haven’t seen the 50’s in months and was beginning to doubt that it was possible, but God is so good!  My liver is functioning normally which is something I haven’t experienced in a long time.  It still has the scarring and is by no means great, but right now it is okay.  After the last episode of rejection we were looking into re-transplantation, but God healed me of that too.  I also had my PICC line removed today and I am IV free for the first time in 6 weeks!  I still need your prayers!!  To live with my body in harmony for a while would be so WONDERFUL!! 

Not only do your prayers make a difference for my physical healing, but they also protect me mentally.  I know that the reason that I cope so well is because of my support system.  God grants me peace and encourages me through your prayers and support.  I have been receiving encouraging cards and messages reminding me of your support and your belief in me.  I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to walk through this alone.  So again, thank you!

I challenge those of you who are feeling overwhelmed with life to choose rest in Christ.  What are your distractions and how can you eliminate them?  Take some time to read and listen to God.  He is inviting you into rest with Him in obedience.  Ask Him what changes you can make in your life to receive that peace, comfort, and joy. Sometimes the rest is taking time for you, but for me it has been taking back the energy from my stress and using that energy to do something nice for someone else.