Relief From Weariness - Carol Harrison

Weariness follows me like a lost puppy dog more often than I like to admit, causing discouragement to grab hold and scare away the words and the confidence of hearing God's voice correctly. Life overwhelms me when busyness pulls in too many directions at once or tough times try to obliterate joy, peace, and light. Sometimes the worn out feeling makes me long to pull the covers over my head so I do not have to face whatever the day might bring. At times like this I long to be refreshed over and over again, more than at other times in my life.

Looking at this month's prompt forced me to take a long, hard deep inside myself to find out what helps me be refreshed. It should be easy, shouldn't it, to know what refreshes me and helps me keep going? Yet, in the midst of being worn out and pulled in many directions, I forget to pause and take seriously God's command, which I have written on a card on my desk, "Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10a.

The self-examination yielded a few key elements for refreshment and renewal.

Music, the old hymns especially, refresh me and always have from the time of my childhood until now. When I remember to be still, to pause, to have a time of refreshing, I allow the melody of songs to wash over me and the words to move me towards a focus on God. The combination of words and music speaks deep into my heart.

With my hearing aids blue-toothed to my phone, I can listen to music with no distractions. The last time I had to stay in the hospital and self-pity came to call, I took my phone, found a two-hour worship video on YouTube, popped in my hearing aids and listened without disturbing anyone else. I lay on my hospital bed with eyes closed, quietly worshiping God until self-pity slunk from the room.

Water also relaxes me and brings a time of refreshment into my life. I love being at a lake with the waves gently lapping against the shore and pine trees in the background. A bonus includes the call of the loon and the display of God's artistry in  spectacular sunrises or sunsets. Since I rarely have the opportunity to visit a lake and in winter ice covers the soothing water, I have several photos by my desk of these peaceful scenes to remind me of the beauty of God's creation.

Even waterfalls, especially trickling down the side of a mountain,  white water rapids, or rivers give me a sense of refreshing with the sound of the rushing water. These times near water remind me that Jesus is the Living Water - powerful, cleansing, and restorative.

 

Reading has been another means for refreshing my spirit. Sometimes when I have trouble concentrating and words don't flow onto the page, or life's tough moments threaten to overwhelm, I retreat into a book. I pick a fiction book, some light reading, and lose myself from the daily grind. I escape my own reality and live vicariously through someone else's adventures. The end result leaves me feeling like I have experienced a mini vacation.

As wonderfully refreshing as music, water, and reading are to me, I need time to be still in God's presence and look into His Word to totally soothe, refresh, and restore the broken bits of life that prohibit creative juices and strain relationships. I look at promises such as Isaiah 43:1-3a "But now this is what the Lord says- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour;"

God knows all about me, including my name. He sees my weariness. He hears my cries. He knows my desire to listen to His still, small voice and follow where He leads. He refreshes my soul and restores peace in the middle of this crazy, busy life.









Carol Harrison lives, writes, and tells stories from her home in Saskatoon where she lives with her husband, Brian. She has two published books and a number of published short stories, poems and articles. She loves to encourage others so they can find glimmers of hope and glimpses of joy.

The Real "Real" Thing - Lynda Schultz

The recent news that it really isn’t necessary to good health to drink eight to ten glasses of water every day brought joy to my heart. It’s tough to swallow that much water (and not spend your life in the bathroom). Even better: Coffee was off the hit list of things that didn’t qualify as liquid. As long as it’s wet it makes the list of acceptable fluids. The rule now, apparently, is to drink when you’re thirsty and to replace liquids that you lose through whatever might cause dehydration. Ah, blessed relief!

Has the red flag gone up in your mind yet?

No matter what the new “evidence” may declare, there is still no substitute for pure and unadulterated water–and plenty of it.

The same is true in the spiritual realm. The popular trend has been to dig other “cisterns” in an effort to satisfy our spiritual thirst. We take courses, attend seminars and read books by the most popular authors. We seek the spiritual sages of our modern world and listen intently to their stings of stories lightly brushed with a verse or two of Scripture. Odd that the more we “fill up” the thirstier we seem to be. Perhaps the psalmist felt the same way when he wrote:

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Where can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1, 2, NIV).

As good as all the substitutes might be, there is nothing that can compare with the pure and unadulterated spiritual water that comes from seeking, finding, and communing with God through His Word and in prayer.

God doesn’t hide Himself from those who look for Him. The psalmist would not have been thirsty for long. Like the Samaritan woman in John 4, he would have soon discovered: “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become to him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (4:14, NIV).

Thirst-quenching, life-changing, and no plastic bottles left behind.

Words and Water, by Bryan Norford

Of course, words do not always “descend like dew.” Often they can be ferocious as a thunderstorm and do the damage of a hurricane. Recent events in the states and currently in Pakistan are evidence of the power of the destructive force of water.

On the basis that the pen is mightier than the sword, words often do more damage than physical violence. James was very aware of this, “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.”

But words with the softness of dew can also soothe; “a gentle answer turns away wrath.” They can heal, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Many years ago, I read the Flight of the Phoenix, later made into films. The greatest need of survivors of a downed plane in the desert was water. I’m not sure if the following incident from the book made it into the movies. 

One morning, the occupants found the overnight east wind had left a coating of dew on the cool metal of the fuselage and wings. They ran for cloths to soak up the precious liquid before it evaporated in the desert sun, and squeezed the moisture into as many receptacles as they could find.

Words that fall like dew can restore life. The Gospel brings hope in despair, assurance in uncertainty, and life in death. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, but also the fingers to pour out this life giving balm. 

What a privilege!