My poem soon was crushed
Under the tramp of hurried feet
That left chaos in my calendar
And trouble on my street
But like the little lizard
Who hides among the leaves
Finding there a place to rest
And safely rides the breeze
I stopped and I remembered
That God commands the dawn
When I may wake to hope again
His work to carry on
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29 ESV
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11 ESV
After traveling twelve hundred miles for a family reunion and then staying a week or so with old friends, on our final day we stopped to visit Steve and his wife Diane. Our kids grew up together with theirs, and though we had not seen each other in a long time it felt like yesterday that they had been going to youth group together. Knowing that Steve had been battling prostate cancer and now that he has elected home hospice care, we had tried twice before to go, but between various nurse’s visits and his not feeling well, it hadn’t worked out till our final day. We really didn’t know what to expect, but when we stepped into Steve’s room we experienced something totally unexpected: the peace of God.
After a moment of greeting and finding places to sit down, Steve greeted us with a smile. Of course we asked the silliest of questions to ask a dying person, “How are you Steve?”
But Steve didn’t seem at all uncomfortable to answer and he knew we meant more than just a report on how he was feeling. So he smiled and said, saying, “I’m okay. I have peace. I know I am going to be with Jesus, but I am sad for my family. Please pray for them, especially Diane.”
Feeling that genuine peace emanating from Steve, we began reminiscing, sharing photos of our grandkids and exchanging stories. Of all the dozens of people with whom we had spent time with on our trip, no one seemed more at rest than Steve. He wasn’t worried about the future, the bills or what he could accomplish. He just knew, without need of explanation, that everything was in the hands of God. Half an hour later, as we stepped out of the doorway, got into our car, and drove away, we left Steve behind, but the reality of his trust in Jesus journeyed home with us. Now in my quiet times, when I am alone, Steve’s smile, and absolute certainty of God’s grace, challenge me to also rest in Christ along the narrow path that He has called for me to walk.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1 KJV
I love hiking up into the woods, and finding a quiet spot to just sit, and listen to the songs of the birds, the buzz of a stray bee or the rustle of small animals in the brush. For me that is my secret place, but on the day that Jesus died, the kind of secret place that needed to be found, was not a wooded glen, but rather place for Him to be buried. So, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took down the body of our Savior and wrapped Him in linen cloths. Then they carried Him to a tomb cut out of a rocky hillside and gently laid Him on a stone shelf. They hurried to finish before sunset, because by the Jewish law they must finish before the Sabbath began. Last of all they quickly rolled a stone over the entrance and headed home. But that was not the end of the story. Jesus wasn’t placed in His tomb because He had failed, Death had not defeated Him, neither had sin won. Instead, behind that stone, in the secret place, He rested in the shadow of the Almighty. He had given His life into the hands of His Father, and now He simply rested until the moment when the stone would be rolled away. Maybe, the shadow of death has fallen across your path today, and you feel forgotten, broken and defeated. But just as the darkness of the tomb was not the end of the story for Jesus, so it is also not the end for anyone who will put their trust in Him. He has chosen a Secret Place for us for a season, so that in its quietness we may hear HIs voice, inviting us to trust Him and to rest in His shadow.
praise2worshipdotnet 
You must be logged in to post a comment.