My husband and I were chatting with a young missionary couple who now deal with chronic illness, living in a foreign land. One of their prayer requests was to ask the Lord to ease the suffering body’s new need for rest…”in order to fulfill their calling.”
I blurted out something I’ve recently realized, having lived for 35 years with this suffering: “Perhaps our Lord’s calling is for you to rest AS part of your ministry, glorifying Him in that. Perhaps this isn’t something to ‘wait for its ending’…but to minister in and through it by accepting this needed rest.”
This encouraged them. But I knew that in this talk with these twenty-somethings, I was speaking back to my own 25-year-old self when my progressively disabling illness first began. I wish I’d listened to His tender voice of “rest” at first, rather than pushing myself, filled with constant anxious scurrying to do everything “perfectly.”
I hadn’t yet learned to rest IN Jesus, rather than being task-driven, goal-driven, and harried FOR Jesus.
Perhaps you are also being called…to rest in the LORD? As we suffer?
Jesus, thou art our only rest
From sin, and guilt, and fears;
We love to lean upon thy breast,
And on thee cast our cares.
(“Jesus, Thou Art Our Only Rest,” Gadsby, W., p. d. Sing to the tune of “O God, Our Help in Ages Past”)
Called to rest our bodies by considering Jesus, who “for the joy set before Him,” also suffered in His body
Night pierces my bones, and my gnawing pains never rest (Job 30:17 BSB).
I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me (Job 30:27 BSB).
I am not at ease or quiet; I have no rest, for trouble has come (Job 3:26 BSB).
Stripped naked, and exposed to shame,
We loud for mercy cried;
The Lord gave faith
to eye the Lamb,
And fasten in his side.
Called to rest our minds as we consider Jesus and fill our thoughts with His Word
With anxious care and painful thought…
And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat (Mk. 6:31 BSB).
We toiled and toiled again…
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes (Ps. 37:7 BSB).
True holiness was what we sought,
But this we sought in vain.
Here I am, Lord (Gen. 22:1; Ex. 3:4; 1 Sam. 3:4; Is. 6:8).
Help me to listen.
Help me to consider Jesus in my own suffering.
And rest.
Called to rest in Christ’s finished work on the cross, in our place!
The works of nature, bad or good,
Availèd nothing here…
In God alone my soul finds rest;
my salvation comes from Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation.
He is my fortress;
I will never be shaken (Ps. 62:1-2 BSB)!
Faith viewed the Saviour’s precious blood,
And banished guilt and fear.
Here’s life, and light, and holiness,
And righteousness divine;
A boundless treasure, all of grace,
And faith says, All is mine!
For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His (Heb. 4:10 BSB).
Lord, rest us from earning. Striving. Achieving. Help us to trust and rest in Christ’s completely finished work on the cross!
The gospel is rest!
Rest our souls in Christ as we suffer, Lord
O what a rest is Christ to me!
How precious and how true!
My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock;
my refuge is in God (Ps. 62:7 BSB).
From guilt and sin he sets me free,
And gives me glory too.
Return to your rest, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you (Ps. 116:7 BSB)!
Rest us contented, Lord, through looking with hope to our glorious future…of rest!
Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest (Is. 32:18 BSB).
I have, I want no rest beside;
Here’s all a God can give…
The fear of the LORD leads to life,
that one may rest content, without visitation from harm (Prov. 19:23 BSB).
Here would I constantly abide,
And every moment live.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:
Forgetting what is behind
and reaching forward
to what is ahead,
I pursue as my goal the prize
PROMISED by God’s heavenly call IN CHRIST JESUS (Phil. 3:13-14 CSB, emphasis added)!
By Your great grace, from start to finish, we pray only in Your glorious name, LORD Jesus Christ, amen.
This week’s playlist gift to sing to our Lord, who calls us to rest…in Him
Then let us join to sing
to Christ, our loving King:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Be this the eternal song
through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
(“When Morning Gilds the Skies,” Caswall, E., 1854)
One of the “forms” of many songs is “call and response.” This week’s playlist sings our response to our Lord’s call…to rest. To rest quieted in what Christ has done on our behalf. To praise Him as we trust Him. To sing of who He is and who we are as those united with Jesus. And rest, rest, rest…in every way! May this be His beautiful gift to you, my suffering sister in Christ.
It comes to emails on Tuesday. Sign up here if this would bless you too, from a suffering sister who is resting by singing of our hope in Christ!
To read more of Lauri’s writing, you can use her devotional Bible study lament prayer journals: Praying God’s Blessings in Christ as We Suffer: Scripture Prayers for the Hardest Days, Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering, Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character as We Suffer, or Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering. In the Valleys of God’s Love is written for children aged 3-8, a perfect read for grandparents, parents, and children to share together, preparing them for suffering to come.
For Scripture devotionals, calming hymns, lots of playlist gifts and encouragement from Lauri, click here for YouTube channel
For those with chronic illness and pain, here’s a place of Scripture, song, and prayer…just for us
For suffering Christian women in your church, free workshops are now available
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