By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
Strength and rest have long seemed like contradictory concepts to me. Rest is sedentary and strength is active, right?
Not necessarily.
I’m currently reading a novel, Where Trees Touch the Sky, one of Karen Barnett’s National Park Novels. The quiet strength of the West Coast redwoods stills the soul when one stands in their presence. Their strength seems to inspire a sense of rest in those fortunate enough to experience their grandeur.
Is that contradiction or connection?
What about the biblical hero, Moses, who was tasked with leading hundreds of thousands of Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, across the wilderness, and back to their promised land in Canaan.
Moses begged God to go with them on the journey and basically said, “If You don’t go with us, I’m not going either.”
God said okay, but in a way I wouldn’t have expected.
“My presence will go with you
and I will give you rest.”
Exodus 33:14
Why didn’t God say He would give strength or victory? Wouldn’t that be less contradictory as they traveled through hostile territory?
A verse in Isaiah 30 also mentions rest in an unusual context:
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”
Isaiah 30:15
Again, an apparent contradiction that says we are saved by resting.
When God’s presence accompanied Moses and the Israelites, His strength was impressively attendant. They could rest in the confidence that He “had their back,” so to speak.
Isaiah reminds us of this idea. When we return to the Lord (after doing everything our way) and rest in His presence and provision, we are saved. We are safe. We are strong.
A quiet confidence gives us the strength to say, “God’s got this,” whatever this may be.
I want that.
When I rest body, soul, and spirit in His presence, I find strength. When I listen to what God is saying to my heart, I realize it isn’t so much a contradiction as it is a connection. Cause and effect, if you will.
How about you? Have you ever found God’s answer in an apparent contradiction?
~
Contradiction or connection? Share on X
Etta regretted not making room for her winter boots when she left Independence, for this morning the yard was a lake. It had
rained steadily all night, and a trip to the cellar would soak her feet through unless she found something to cover them.
A thorough search of the kitchen netted a length of oil cloth that she cut in half and wrapped around her high-top shoes. Twine at
her ankles tied them in place. Then she slipped into an old coat of Bern’s hanging by the back door, and with a small pail in hand, set
out for the cellar.
Even against the sharp morning air, she smelled Bern in the canvas that encased her. His scent suggested warmth and strength—twin enticements she’d packed away with her late husband’s clothes.
Lord help her, she had to stop thinking of Bern Stidham in such terms. Especially now. As much as she wanted to belong, she resisted any hope of permanence in Lockton. In a matter of weeks, she’d be gone. Departure wouldn’t hurt so much if she didn’t think of town and the frame house at the end of Main Street as home. ~Mail-Order Misfire, prequel to the beloved Front Range Brides series.
Inspirational Western Romance – where the hero is heroic.
#lovingthecowboy
(c) 2024 Davalynn Spencer, all rights reserved.
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