**I wrote this last week, just haven’t had opportunity it post much lately.
"For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing." (Jeremiah 31:25 NLT)
The verse of the day caught my heart again and I never did make back to Matthew this morning. It’s okay, I’ll pick it up in the back of a classroom this afternoon. A little gospel amidst geometry makes the medicine go down. 🤣
I’m reminded, God’s past performance record is rest and joy. Today, when I’m tired and down, I’m going to recall His proven stats and promises. He is a God who loves His people out of exhaustion and despair; into rest and joy. He has wholeness and soul-happiness for those who trust in Him!
Before we take this verse at face value, it’s helpful to consider it in context. God was speaking through His prophet Jeremiah about the impending occupation, exile and aftermath. His people were about to face some incredible challenges. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. God would show Himself faithful again. One day soon, God’s people would experience His favor and rest anew.
"At this I woke up and looked around, my sleep had been very sweet." (Jeremiah 31:26 NLT)
God had spoken this promise to Jeremiah in a dream and thus his sleep was sweet. Yet God wasn’t done, He spoke a promise of the rebuilding to come.
"The day is coming," says the Lord, "When I will greatly increase the human population and the number of animals were in Israel and Judah. In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it and brought disaster upon it. But in the future, I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the Lord, have spoken." (Jeremiah 31:28 NLT)
Just as the Lord allowed Israel/Judah to experience devastation and exile, He has allowed me to experience loss and loneliness. He has deliberately uprooted me to excavate self-reliance and idolatry out of my story. He has taken this past decade to recreate me as His daughter.
This season cannot last forever: that’s not how seasons work. Seasons change – even in South Texas. 🙂 There’s a post-it note on my desk to remind me of a God-whisper from a while back. “It’s a season, not a sentence.” Growth and contentment have everything to do with our attitude. Winter is entirely different than those serving time, but a bad attitude can blur the lines.
We do well to take God at His word. I heard Him say “Roots grow in winter.” and then I heard the ice crack. I see subtle signs of spring, thought the wind is mighty and cold. It feels like the roar of March blowing in. Yesterday, I spied mountain laurel blooming between buildings in the schoolyard and the firred whisper of of budding on the branches of an old oak across the street. We’re supposed to plume to 33 again tonight, but I won’t forget what I’ve seen and heard: hints of new growth and the carefree laugh of running water. Spring is coming. The season is changing. I haven’t heard God wrong even when the temps drop – we are on our way to warm and happy days. Rest and joy are still on the agenda.
In the meantime, I wait on Him. I spend these last long days of spiritual winter working His word into my heart and staying in step with His Spirit. I refuse to give in to big feelings of exhaustion and despair. Instead, I hang on to His promise that winter will end, spring will arrive. Rest and joy are en route!
"Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; His going out is as sure as the dawn, He will come to us as the showers, as spring rains that water the earth." (Hosea 6:3 ESV)
Lord, let our love last even as temperatures fall again. Help us keep our hope in You, in spite of what we see and feel. Your promises are genuine and You cannot fail; it’s not in Your nature. We are reminded again today, this is a season, not a sentence. We continue to trust in Your timetable for our growth and flourishing. Amen.