Finding Rest

Weariness comes to everyone.

Besides being cheerful, Filipinos are known for being hardworking people. We all tried to be as strong as we could be as we keep up with the fast-changing phase of our busy world. And while we strive to survive for the day, there would be times when life would not give us repose.

Some of us are surrounded by endless problems and difficulties. Tragedies come in the most unexpected occasion. Disasters and accidents would leave people homeless and helpless. Sickness and death of loved ones bring deep sorrow and grief. Poverty and the country’s high unemployment rate caused people to always feel deprived that leads them to their greatest frustration. Family feuds and even broken relationships, which seem to be constant, contribute to one’s disappointments. Justice in this world oftentimes fails us.

We cannot stop worrying. We cannot help but weep within our soul. And yet, we still find the courage to continue. That is what we learned from our forerunners, after all. With all the strength left within us, we try to give ourselves another chance, a new start.

Standing on our feet we worked and we worked hard. But this world is full of uncertainty. Obstacles keep on blocking our way to the happiness we have always been aiming for. We give all our efforts to fight against it. We try everything to find our way out of our misery just to find out that it only gets harder and harder to overcome the obstructions around us.

At last, a realization has come that these earthly bodies get tired and distressed. Tired of trying. Tired of hoping. Tired of waiting. Tired of going rounds pointlessly in circles of life.

Gathering more strength to work our way out will no longer come about for there is no more left in us. A slight longing for peace starts to creep within while attempting to believe that probably there would be no absolute happiness in life. Being lifted up from our misery is almost like an unreachable dream in our head. If only we can find a place to lay all our burdens aside we would also lean back and have total rest.

Where?

For a very long time without experiencing that sweet peace, we have forgotten what it is like to be absolutely calm and still.

Yes. There is eternal peace. There is rest for those who are weary. Those who are tired of disarray that is happening in their lives can come to the Lord in prayer and ask for His mercy and peace. The Lord Himself is inviting us, “Come unto me....and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

In His everlasting arms, there is peace. In His hands there is healing. In His presence, there is a comfort. What a blessing to know that there is hope in the Lord! We do not have to carry all our burdens alone when we have God who will lift up all our sorrows and anguish, only if we humbly reach to Him and acknowledge His sovereignty.

How?

There should, first, be reconciliation between you and the Lord. Forgiveness He freely gives to those who repent of and forsake their sins. A decision, then, must be made to accept Jesus as your personal Savior and embrace the new life He is offering to all (Romans 3:24-26). That new life is filled with perfect peace, true joy, abundant grace, contentment and satisfaction, tender love, perpetual light in the darkness, pleasure in the awesomeness of God and richness in His glory. These are the things this world can never provide, and these are the things one can never obtain when focusing on the vanities of this world.

Our life can be very exhausting when our minds are preoccupied with all the excitements and the noise of this world. In the midst of the tumult in our lives and all around us, the Lord is waiting for those who will draw near unto Him and will find rest in Him. It is His promise to give rest eternal to those who are weary and heavy-laden.

So, why not come to Him and claim His promise?

His loving comfort is what will satisfy us from our life-long search for happiness. Praise be to God who grants peace. Praise be to God for He is true in His Word. Glory be to God in the highest.

In all seasons of our lives, we should take time to have a quiet time with the Lord and be renewed of His strength from day to day. Our strength alone would not be enough to suffice our everyday work. We need His might to overcome the challenges in this world. There is no need to face the difficulties in life alone when there is GOD our Everlasting Father who will carry us and cover us under His wings of protection. I am unceasingly praying, Dona nobis pacem, Domine.