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Reward in the rest

Jenna’s been out of town a lot lately, so I’ve had dog duty with Kandie. We get along fine, but we haven’t perfected our game of fetch yet. play fetch

I throw.
She retrieves.
But she doesn’t give it back.

She hangs on.

I coax her, “Give. Give.”
Until she does, I offer no reward.
No “Atta girl!” No petting. No praising.

So she misses the reward that come with rest.

When God sends opportunities my way, if I’m playing smart, I take them.

He throws.
I retrieve.
But I don’t always give them back.

I hang on.

I continue running in circles with the burden in my mouth, instead of dropping it at the feet of the Master

I miss the reward that comes from resting.

When Kandie does “give,” I lay it on thick.
Good puppy! That’s my girl! Such a good dog!
She revels in my praise. It is its own reward.

I’ve got to learn better how to “give” it up, too.
Spit it out. Lay it down. Drop it at His feet.

There’s reward in the rest.

The word Jesus used [burden in Matthew 11:30] means a load carried or toil borne to the point of exhaustion.

Rest is simply release from that burden.

It is not something we do, it is what comes to us when we cease to do.
                ~ The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer

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More on rest:

3 comments:

Kim Hyland said...

"I miss the reward that comes from resting". What an invitation. I need to hear it over and over. Thank you for your insight.

Melissa Runcie | Madabella said...

Yes! There is absolutely reward in the rest. When God impressed upon my heart to study rest back in April, he took away every man made distraction...my phone and internet were turned off...my mouth was even wired shut! It was hilarious, but God knew exactly what I needed. There is a sweet revival in the hearts of those who rest. :)

I'm leading an online bible study series on rest during the month of July. I hope you can stop in and check it out! :)

Cindy in PA said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier.

And thank you for this post. Giving my worries to God is something that I constantly need to practice....I'm getting better at it (taking less time to do) yet still need to improve. And it's true, then rest does come to me.

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