by Rob Globke

Psalm 116:7
"Be at rest once more, O my Soul,
for the Lord has been good to you."


The opposite of rest: restlessness, unrest, anxiety, the jitters, worry, unease, uncertainty are all familiar words. Familiar feelings. At one point or another, we as humans will feel the weight and burden of these words. They come at times like a Chara slapshot quick, heavy, and hard. Other times they creep into our lives slowly like the freezing of freshly resurfaced ice.


The cause for this state of unrest is often self inflicted, and in the pursuit to “cure” the discord in our lives we end up right back where we started: broken, confused, frustrated. It is a vicious cycle. Think about the restlessness that comes from the feeling we are not getting what we are supposed to be getting out of life. We say to ourselves we are:

• not getting enough ice time
• not on the right team with the right players
• not satisfied with our gear because we don’t have the latest and greatest
• not making enough money or getting enough praise for the work being done
• not big enough or fast enough
• not…..(fill in the blank with your own)

In an effort to calm this unrest, we chase after the wrong things in the hopes that the grass will be greener on the other side. We switch teams because this time will be better. We start taking things or doing things which are not the best for us in the hopes it will make us faster and stronger. We begin saying things we never would think of saying in order to fit in, to be liked. We sacrifice doing something worth our time for the lure and easy road of money and praise.


YET


We all know where this path leads. It is like walking on a treadmill. With each and every step, we are no closer to where we want to be, but we are more and more tired. Exhausted from trying to find the pot at the end of the rainbow. It is not long before we realize we want more and start chasing after the next best thing, position, or place…..yet again! And thus, the treadmill continues.

OR


Take the flip side to all of this: Fear and Worry. Instead of wanting more, we are afraid of losing what we have.

• Will I be fired or cut?
• What if I have a bad shift, will I get benched?
• What’s going to happen when I don’t skate or shoot like I used to?
• Who will like me on the team if I don’t act like everyone else?

These thoughts, these questions haunt us. They boil up in our hearts until we are paralyzed by fear. We walk around on eggshells living life in a constant state of anxiety and fear. Living with this restlessness is no way to live. There is a better way. A way in which the Psalmist tells us that we can return to find REST. We are reminded that this rest is found in our ability to REMEMBER.


The Lord HAS BEEN Good
Remember that the Lord has been good. He has provided. Too often we forget what the Lord has given us and look too easily at the things He has not. When we stop to reflect on all that God has provided in our lives, we are led away from envy and into thanksgiving. This leads to REST.


The Lord WILL BE Good
Not only that. If we remember all that God has promised he will do for us, we should not be anxious or worrying. He will continue to give us everything we need. He will not leave us to fend for ourselves. He will always be on the lookout for our best interest


Christ is the Answer
You talk about relief. God has and will PROVIDE. There is no need to be restless. And if you say, “I have never seen the Lord’s provision.” Well, I would say you have overlooked the greatest provision in History: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

For in Christ, we have Hope, Life, Joy, and complete REST.