Psalm 62

"My soul finds rest in God alone..." Psalm 62:1a

"One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that You, O God, are strong, and that You, O Lord, are loving..." Psalm 62 11-12a

Rest. It's a word that describes something that can be quite elusive in this life. I can't count the times that someone has said to me, "go and get some rest". Physical rest is one thing, but rest for the soul is another deal altogether. The idea is a ceasing from all striving, a position of peace, safety, and security. In the world we live in, people try find this type of rest, and it often alludes them. Family, relationships, work, vacation... all of these things can offer the illusion of peace, security, and safety; but it is never lasting. Families fall apart, relationships fail, Job's come to an end, change, or become stressful, and vacations don't last forever. Real rest can only be found one place, and that is in the Lord.

David tells us about 2 characteristics of God's nature that he had heard about from God Himself. They are simple, and ones we have talked about many times here, but they are so important to our discussion today. David says, "You, O God, are strong" and "You, O Lord, are loving". Strength and love... these two working together create the only perfect environment for true rest.

If God was only loving, and not strong, then the rest we have in Him would go only as far as the first time it was attacked or challenged from the outside. Because God is strong, nothing from the outside can affect the rest we have in Him. Since God is unshakable, when we rest in Him, we cannot be moved.

If God was only strong, and not loving, then our rest in Him wouldn't be rest at all, for we would live in constant fear of being "cast out". Because He is loving, we can believe His promise that He will never, no never, leave us nor forsake us. because we know He loves us, we can have a rest that is full and complete... the very rest He desires all of us to have!

Having looked at God in this light, isn't it foolish that we try and find rest in other things? Friends, rest in the Lord, and not in anything else... He alone will never fail you, He alone will never forsake you!