My raptured song shall ever be: God has been merciful to me!

10/2/16

I Rest My Weary Soul

Are you ever weary? Completely emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted? In my seventeen short years of life on this earth, I have only been that way twice. Once when I thought I could never come to Christ, and once when Dad had heart surgery and I had to be "in charge", to a certain extent, of the house, plus worrying about Dad and doing school. But I have since discovered Love that will not let me go, no matter how tired I am, no matter how doubtful I can be. Not even when I don't feel like reading the Bible or praying. Do you ever feel that way? I do. It is depressing to be that way, but sometimes I have to force myself to pray and seek God. I almost deleted what I just read thinking that it wouldn't be something I want an unbeliever to read, but God doesn't promise an easy road. He says to "pick up your cross and follow Me." My cross happens to be rather large, and I always fall on the way, but I have Love that I can rest my weary soul in. 
Do you ever wonder why God notices us? "What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You visit him?" The same God who calls the stars by name and orders things in existence out of nothing knows our every thought, desire, and even knows the number of hairs on our head. He cares about us enough to send His Son to be our Mediator, to die on the cross, to take our penalty, that we may be with Him in ETERNITY. I capitalized "eternity" for a reason. Have you ever tried to figure out how long eternity is? It's unfathomable how long it is. And we will be with our God for ETERNITY. 
I love this hymn by George Matheson because it pretty much sums up my life so far. In the first stanza, it tells how we give back the life we owe, that in His ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be. When we become Christians, our lives are no longer ours, but Christ's. I think the second verse says it so well, I can't summarize it further.
In the third stanza, the Joy that sought me through my pain, won't let me close my heart to it. When I had thoughts that I didn't want to have, Joy sought me. I traced the rainbow (God's promise) through the rain that seemed more like ocean waves during a storm that was trying to drown me, and I knew that in Christ there would be peace.  
In the final stanza, I can't ask to be away from my God, because nothing in me desires to go back to sin. I've been down that road and I never want to be there again. My glory died the night I became a Christian, and I became clothed in Christ's glory. 
Whose glory are you clothed in?


"O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.


O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.


O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.


O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be."
-George Matheson-

Kaelan