It was late in the day and still the noise surrounded us. The elevator dinging, the telephones chirping, the call buttons issuing a strident claxon, the IV pole beeping, the whooshes from the suction wand, the roaring wheels of the food carts, even the dimmer wail of the sirens as ambulances rolled in beneath us to the emergency room—and this is where we are supposed to relax and recuperate, I wondered? Since when is a hospital a place of rest? At least hospice, where my mother was ultimately moved, was quiet and peaceful.
Our culture is a noisy one. I have had people tell me they leave the television on for company, so there is always noise in the background. Maybe because I live in the country I find that utterly confounding. Yet this morning as I sat by the fire pit with a final cup of morning coffee I found myself thinking that it certainly isn't as quiet as thirty-five years ago, when cows lowing, donkeys braying, roosters crowing, woodpeckers tapping for food in the live oaks, and wrens singing their little heads off were the loudest things for miles around.
Rest. God promised His people rest—from their enemies, from the toil of slavery, from the worries of life, if they would only keep their covenant with Him. But what did they prefer? The hoopla and noise of idolatry and all its attendant debauchery. A peaceful life with their God was boring, I suppose. It certainly did not offer the physical thrill of sin and the emotional high of a pagan festival. What did He have to say about that?
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’ Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it. " (Jer 6:16-19). Too late they learned the value of a peaceful and quiet life with God, led by His Word and following His Law.
The Devil cultivates our desire for excitement and stimulation. He fills our ears with his noise until we can no longer tolerate the serenity of spiritual satisfaction and peace with God. Busyness becomes a status symbol. We fill our children's minds with "cultural enrichment" and run ourselves ragged trying to outdo one another in our bustling around. We go and go and go and talk and talk and talk until we have no time at all to sit still and simply meditate on God and His place in our lives—which ultimately becomes no place at all.
Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near… {Zeph 1:7). That's what happens when we become too busy and too loud to notice God. It was spoken to a people who would soon be destroyed because they would not be quiet long enough to listen.
Far better to learn the lesson the psalmist teaches: “Be still, and know that I am God…” (Ps 46:10).
Far better to realize that rest is not a punishment but a reward, a reward for those who have been busy, not with loud self-serving sin, but with the quiet work of the Lord, serving Him by serving others, in a place where we can truly rest and recuperate from all of our trials.
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.” (Matt 11:28-30)
Dene Ward
Our culture is a noisy one. I have had people tell me they leave the television on for company, so there is always noise in the background. Maybe because I live in the country I find that utterly confounding. Yet this morning as I sat by the fire pit with a final cup of morning coffee I found myself thinking that it certainly isn't as quiet as thirty-five years ago, when cows lowing, donkeys braying, roosters crowing, woodpeckers tapping for food in the live oaks, and wrens singing their little heads off were the loudest things for miles around.
Rest. God promised His people rest—from their enemies, from the toil of slavery, from the worries of life, if they would only keep their covenant with Him. But what did they prefer? The hoopla and noise of idolatry and all its attendant debauchery. A peaceful life with their God was boring, I suppose. It certainly did not offer the physical thrill of sin and the emotional high of a pagan festival. What did He have to say about that?
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’ Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, what will happen to them. Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices, because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it. " (Jer 6:16-19). Too late they learned the value of a peaceful and quiet life with God, led by His Word and following His Law.
The Devil cultivates our desire for excitement and stimulation. He fills our ears with his noise until we can no longer tolerate the serenity of spiritual satisfaction and peace with God. Busyness becomes a status symbol. We fill our children's minds with "cultural enrichment" and run ourselves ragged trying to outdo one another in our bustling around. We go and go and go and talk and talk and talk until we have no time at all to sit still and simply meditate on God and His place in our lives—which ultimately becomes no place at all.
Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near… {Zeph 1:7). That's what happens when we become too busy and too loud to notice God. It was spoken to a people who would soon be destroyed because they would not be quiet long enough to listen.
Far better to learn the lesson the psalmist teaches: “Be still, and know that I am God…” (Ps 46:10).
Far better to realize that rest is not a punishment but a reward, a reward for those who have been busy, not with loud self-serving sin, but with the quiet work of the Lord, serving Him by serving others, in a place where we can truly rest and recuperate from all of our trials.
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.” (Matt 11:28-30)
Dene Ward
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