Moths and Leaves
I just spilled coffee on the chair and rug in my office trying to intercept a moth.
Moving things to deal with the spill, I discovered a new place on the rug where the moth larvae have been feasting. The only way I know to deal with them, aside from poison, is to keep moving the furniture and vacuum. Moths are destroyers: any place I do not input energy to restore order, they will take over. I must be continually in battle mode.
Visiting the Northwest a month ago, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that fall leaves are so glorious because they reveal the true colors of leaves that are resting. When the food production cells stop running, the underlying colors are what we see! Here is the glory of rest consistent with design.
Moths and leaves. Battle and rest. How do I reconcile the two? Can we rest in battle, or while battling?
Jesus does not promise the no-work kind of rest, but the kind of work which is not a burden. His rest is coupled with work done together with Him, not the work of our own achievement. There are no extra points for working “harder” than He does. His rest is the laying down of striving to attain value, love or goodness on our own.
So, even in battle mode, we are not dependent on our own strength, but on His: His blood, His sacrifice, His victory.
Jesus says: “Come to work with me; learn by practice and example my traits and my trade (building the household of God). I am neither a harsh master nor an arrogant yoke-mate; I am He who bears your burdens by submitting to the Father and depending on Him continuously. Carrying this load is not hard, nor is it heavy. Come rest with Me in the Father’s care and sovereign rule.”
May your day be filled with the glorious rest of depending on Jesus!
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