Resisting or Resting?

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis. Generally, my condition is well-controlled by the medication I take. But I have this rogue knee that gives me trouble almost constantly.

When I was 13 I had surgery to remove a torn cartilage in one of my knees. Decades ago, that was the way doctors handled that kind of problem. Nowadays they’ve realized that they need to leave a whole lot more of that natural cushion in our knees than they first thought was needed. So not only do I struggle with RA in that knee, but bone on bone, osteoarthritis as well.

So I must rest.

In fact, I think that is one of the primary reasons God allowed me to have RA—just so I would slow down every once in a while!

But there are so many wonderful things that God teaches me and develops in me when I rest—things that I would miss if I were still going a hundred miles an hour! Of course, I get frustrated whenever it flares, but maybe I need to think of it as a blessing in disguise. Maybe God is gently nudging me to slow down, sit beside Him in green pastures and rest. After all, that is where He is able to restore my soul.

Is there something in your life that God is using to get you to slow down?

Are you resisting it or resting in it?

Take a moment to meditate on this familiar passage. Imagine yourself resting with your Savior as you sit beside a babbling brook. Ask Him to restore your soul today.

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  Psalm 23 (NIV)

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