The late Ruth Graham, wife of Evangelist Billy Graham, was known to be a collector of quotations.  One of them that became one of her favorites was one by George MacDonald, the Scottish pastor, writer, and mentor to C. S. Lewis, “It’s only in Him that the soul has room.”  It’s only in God that we have room to rest.  It’s only in Him can we find peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).  In the Message, Eugene Peterson translates that peace as “a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good,” which when it comes will settle us down.  Our soul has found room to rest. 

As we know, the opposite of rest is not busy, but restless.  Jesus was busy, but He was not restless; His soul had room to rest.  We can be busy; in fact, there are times we must be busy because of demands and needs around us.  But we should not be restless.  Restlessness is not a sign of being busy but rather it’s a sign of being untethered, of being anxious about whatever it is we are facing.  We fear and think of the worst; we feel helpless because we can’t think of a way out.   

It is during this time that we must remember that God has already known all along that this would happen.  Knowing this always gives me rest; I can let go of what I am facing and surrender it to the Lord. I know everything will come together, somehow, for good. 

At age 13 Ruth Graham had to say good-bye to her parents and her home in China where she grew up as a child of a missionary doctor.  She’s to board a ship for high school in Pyeng Yang Foreign School in North Korea.  Upon arrival she suffered terrible homesickness; night after night she cried herself to sleep for weeks.  She ended up sick and had to be treated in the infirmary for several days.  It was there, in that room, she read the Book of Psalms, all 150 chapters, and found strength. The Bible is our room; prayer is our room; songs of praise are our room, where we can rest in the care of Our Father.

Pastor Paul