Rest

Evening and Morning

/ pastorpete51 / 7 Comments

God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:5 ESV

It was about 3:30 in the afternoon when we pulled up to our last lawn to mow for the week. “We’re here to cut the grass, Mrs. Schwartz*!” I called out as we hurried to get the mowers of the truck. But she quickly stopped us in our tracks, as she replied “Oh no, not now! It is too close to Sabbath.” You see, I was learning that when we Gentiles see a sunset and think, “Another day is done.” But, to the Jewish mind, just as in the book of Genesis, sunset is the beginning of a new one. Today’s verse makes it clear that darkness always comes first, and then light. “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.”

The same is true of God’s schedule for every one of us. When the darkness of illness, trouble of death falls in our lives, we think, “This is the end of my day!” But God replies, “Oh no; not at all! This night season you are about to pass through is a new beginning. It is almost Sabbath, and on the other side of this darkness is the second half of the day. There you will be sure to find both sunrise and true rest! “

As A Butterfly Rests

/ pastorpete51 / 2 Comments

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 ESV

As a butterfly rests
In the palm of our hand
When its flower-top flying is past
Jesus calls us to give
Him the weight of our load
When the pace of our race runs too fast

And take up a burden that's easy and light
And a joy as we give Him control
Then listen and learn from His meek lowly heart
That in Him is refreshing for souls!

As a Butterfly Rests by Peter Caligiuri 
copyright 2021 all rights reserved
Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

Selah

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. Psalm 3:4 KJV

Last week I broke one of my toes while tripping over a chair on the way to the coffee machine in the morning. What bothers me almost as much as the pain is the fact that this injury has put a halt to many of the activities I had planned for this week. I have had to pause and reconsider what is most important. Now in the Bible there is a word that reminds me of my situation and that is the word Selah. Though the precise meaning of Selah is debatable, it is some sort of annotation denoting a time to pause and reflect. Selah is used much the way a rest is used in music. When I was a child I struggled with those rests in my clarinet lessons. A four beat rest was especially hard, though it gave me the needed moment to take a breath, it was hard not to start tooting my next note before it was finished. In that same way, God sometimes places a long rest between events in our lives. Oh yes it is hard to wait out those full four beats with nothing we can do!

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We take a quick breath and ask – “When can I play my next note?” But God, who is the wise orchestra director of our life knows exactly how long we the rest must be. This rest is not just an accident, it is written into the composition of His symphony. It is time to pause and reflect on the last measures He gave us to play. Not until just the right moment, with our full attention given to the direction of His baton, will it be time to start tooting again. Maybe like me, you are experiencing God’s call for Selah today. Instead of fussing and fretting over what we can’t do, we need to see this as His perfect timing, for taking a deep breath so that we will be ready to play just the right note! So I’ve shared my personal Selah moment for this week – is anyone else willing to share yours? It just might give someone else a needed blessing today!

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