The side of my life I don't speak much of in this public arena, is the great rewards and heartbreaks of living and loving out the Gospel in ministry and service to others. For some, what The Preacher and I do day by day may be considered a profession, but for us, it is truly a calling and a conviction.
John Piper has described it this way: "If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full."
I have never known this truth more greatly than I do in this season of my life.
You don't have to be a church minister, a mentor, a counselor, or a Bible scholar to know the weight of Piper's insight here. You must merely consider the truth of God's Word as more important than your own, the healing from His hands more transforming than any bandaid, and the timing of his provisions the only schedule that matters.
And, can I just say: It's worth it.
I cannot share the stories, the lives, the heartaches, and the many victories of everyday people who count the cost and walk the road of discipleship. But, really, you know the stories already; they are your stories. They are the daily lives of all of us who've hurt and been hurt, who have loved and lost, who have known clarity and confusion alike, and all of us who have waited upon the Lord for rest and found Him faithful.
There is rest for each of us today. Because He is the author of our salvation and the end to all our striving, we can know rest today...we who need the reminding, and we who are called to do the reminding.
He knows just where you are today, and what you need.
REST. Be at rest.
Our Father is more merciful than we allow ourselves to believe, more loving than we understand, and more faithful than we will ever be. That's how we know we can rest today.