There are times when my weary soul needs a fresh infilling of God’s power, strength, and direction. Some of which can only be fully experienced from a place of rest.
I experienced one of these times recently. I first recognized my need for rest when a skewed perspective snuck in and accompanied my exhaustion. My activity had overshadowed my need for silence and stillness. My need for adrenalin overtook my will to comply. As a result, I’d become resistant, restless, and reactive to anything and anyone that threatened my time, my space, my needs. Vying for control in my life, it became apparent that I was forfeiting peace. Not much less the Prince of Peace. To the degree that I almost refused His invitation, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
I knew there was only one place to go to find the rest my soul desperately needed—my bathtub. You heard me right.
I’ve learned the replenishing power of the bathtub. History would have it that as I light my scented candles, sink down into the hot water, and lay back onto my tub cushion amid sparkling bubbles piled high around me something happens in my heart and mind. My worries, troubles, and stresses all start to dissipate.
It all starts with a single deep sigh. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.
With every exhale I breathe out burdens, negative thoughts, bad attitudes, cares of this world. Then as I inhale, my lungs are filled with the very breath of the Spirit of God. In a series of deep breaths, I allow all of Who He is and all that He offers to fill my burdened, heavy, weary, and empty soul. Like an air-exchange system.
It’s from my quiet, undisturbed, and vulnerable state, the Lord often speaks to my innermost being where His truth resides. He begins with the handcrafted words I have hanging on my wall at the foot of my tub; from Psalm 54:10 with an added word, “Be still and know that I am your God.”
I soak it all in for a few moments, fixing my gaze at these life-giving words. And then something remarkable begins to happen; my once restless, anxious, stirred up soul begins to rejuvenate. His restorative water washes over my soul and cleanses me from deep within. Out of the fallow comes fruitfulness.
There, as I lay still and humbly acknowledge Him as my God, He begins to reclaim His territory; that is, my soul. Here are some of the simple truths He recently spoke into my heart, straight from His cleansing, soothing suds. And there the exchange began:
1. Resist or Embrace.
Come near to God and he will come near to you (Jas. 4:8).
2. Drudge or Delight.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Ps. 37:4).
3. Endure or Enjoy.
So that you, your children, and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life (Deut. 6:2).
4. Curse or Celebrate.
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh. 8:10).
5. Binge or Balance.
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Eccles. 3:1).
6. Wrestle or Rest.
Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world (Heb. 4:3).
7. Despair or Rejoice.
To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Is. 61:3).
I knew I had a choice:
I could react to the advice I was being given out of sheer exhaustion or respond to it appropriately and in with a godly attitude.
I could persist in my self-seeking ways or receive the blessing God had waiting.
I could go on living in chaos and claustrophobia, or I could allow Him to help me create order and spaciousness.
I could experience guilt as I continued on my own path against what I knew what I should be doing, or I could experience the freedom that comes when Truth sets me free.
I could look at all my restrictions as an infringement on my life, or I could embrace them as an opportunity to do things I wouldn’t typically get to do. In turn, trading off what I was seeing as obligation into opportunity.
In those moments of complete solitude and utmost humility, the Lord showed me not only what I needed to cleanse myself from, but what I’d be getting in exchange for it all. And as I absorbed His truth, I once again experienced the restorative power from soaking up time in His presence. More of Him!
