Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a special verse from Jeremiah chapter 6.
The 6th chapter of Jeremiah verse 16, says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls ....’” Isn’t that beautiful? I mean, what a picture, right? Stand at the crossroads and look and ask for the ancient paths; ask where the good way is and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your soul. You know, when I think of rest, I think of having the freedom to sleep in on a Saturday morning until 8:30 am, with no telephone ringing. When I think of rest, I think of going to bed early, like maybe at 7:30 in the evening and just fluffing the pillows and… relaxing in the quiet! Many of us picture things like this when we think of rest, but when it comes to “resting in Christ,” quite a different image is painted. Let me illustrate it with this quote from Henry Drummond. He says…
“Two artists each painted a picture to illustrate his conception of rest. The first chose for his scene a still, lone lake among the far-off mountains. It was a serene and beautiful scene; yes, very calming, very restful to look at. But the second artist, on his canvas, wildly painted a thundering waterfall. You could almost hear the roaring of the water. But a closer look revealed a fragile birch tree bending over the mist of the roaring water. At the fork of the branch, wet with spray, there sat a robin on its nest.”
Now meditate on these two renderings for a moment with me. Because as lovely a scene as it was, the first painting was only stagnant. The lake was dormant, inert, inactive. But the second (the one of the waterfall and the little bird in its nest), that one truly described what it means to rest. For in rest, there are always two elements, right: tranquility and energy; silence and turbulence; creation and destruction; fearlessness and fearfulness. And it was the same way with Christ. The life of Jesus outwardly was one of the most troubled lives that was ever lived. Tempest and tumult, with crowds pushing, no time to sleep; wave upon wave of needs from all sorts of people. With all this, though, His inner life was a sea of glass. The great calm was always there. At any moment, you might have gone to Him and found rest. Even on the Sea of Galilee, you could have stepped out onto a storm and felt the sea become glass underneath your feet. Even when the bloodhounds were dogging Him in the streets of Jerusalem, Jesus turned to His disciples and offered them, as a lasting legacy, His peace, His rest.
How is it with you today? Do you find yourself precariously perched over a chasm of some frightful predicament, much like the robin above the waterfall? Perhaps so. Because if you are following Christ, it's doubtful that He's leading you by—oh, I don’t know—an idealistic quiet lake scene, far from the maddening crowd. You're in the storm. And there's nothing stagnant about that. So let the waves roar ... inside your heart, though, can be a sea of glass when you rest in Jesus. And, friend, if you feel like that little robin, if you are a little nervous or fearful about your circumstances, then please, I want to send you a copy of my booklet, “Breaking the Bonds of Fear.” It has so many wonderful insights about entering the rest that is yours in Christ. So go to my radio page today at joniandfriends.org and ask for your free copy. And finally, pray with me: Lord Jesus, sometimes it seems I'm in the eye of the storm, but that's okay. I'm in the eye where You are. Where it's calm, so thank You for resting me there. In your name, Amen.
© Joni and Friends
Used by permission of Joni and Friends
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