I get tired. The demands of ministry, motherhood, relationships, to-do lists, other’s expectations, and the list could go on; they pile up and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. In these times, and they seem frequent, I can react in one of three ways. First, it is easy to want to grasp at the reins of my life and try to wrestle these demands to the ground. How often I find myself with God, acting like my own 4-year-old walking along a busy street. God is wanting to hold my hand, but I’m impatiently pulling away and eager to run in my own direction, unaware of the dangers I’m about to dash off into. For every demand I dash off into, two more pop up. It’s never ending and I find myself not just tired, but exhausted.
This leads to the second reaction: giving up. In this place I’m burned out and an emotional mess. My introverted tendencies kick into overdrive and I withdraw. Often in this beat down place, I’m finally quiet, because my resources are spent, and that’s when God often steps in and says, “Yes, this. I can work with this. You’ve finally let go of the reins and are ready to surrender to me.”
And that brings us to the third reaction: trusting rest. God longs to bless us and keep us, but we are too busy, too worried, too prideful to make room for Him, and we miss His blessings. But when we rest in Him, like a child rests in its mother’s arms, we can be restored and at peace. This reminds me of Numbers 6:22-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.
It’s a beautiful blessing that many of us are familiar with, but have you ever noticed the verse that comes after it?
So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.
I have never paid it much attention, but in my reading today it jumped off the page at me. Diving into it more, the Hebrew word for “invoke” can also mean to heap, wholly work, impress, give, or fasten. Additionally, “name” can mean honor, authority, or character. Many commentaries will say “the wholeness of a person.”
Forgive my etymology lesson, but all of this comes together so beautifully. This passage is not just a hopeful prayer, but a proclamation that God will heap and wholly work, will fasten and impress His presence on us. Whoa! This is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, and what a mind-blowing thought to know that His presence is available to us and available abundantly! It’s been heaped upon us! We can rest easy in it.
In all of our exhausting ways, what an overwhelming peace and joy there is in knowing our Heavenly Father has our back. He’s got us by the hand, if only we will trustingly hold it, and He offers Himself fully to us with love, grace, and shalom in abundance.
Guest Contributor: Laura Carter
