Hope Resting

I have this sweet new devotional that I got for my birthday. Jesus Today, by Sarah Young (the author of the super popular Jesus Calling devotional).  The theme of the entire book is Hope. The very first day talks about how some of God's children have forgotten how to hope. It was good and so encouraging and I needed a little spiritual pep-talk. So I grinned and thanked Jesus and then my eyes wandered to the supporting verses on the next page.  The ones that go along with the devotion.  They are supposed to teach our great need to keep an eternal perspective and find joy in all circumstances as we place our hope in God.....and they totally do that. But I saw something else too.  I saw rest. Do you see it?

"We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  May your unfailing love rest upon us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you."  Psalm 33:20-22

"A faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time." Titus 1:2

Maybe I was just tired...

It could be that even in the early morning hours I was feeling overwhelmed and undone by the chaotic To Dos that awaited... 

Perhaps it was the blessed burden of teaching preparation... 

Or it could be that one of my children is in a stage that feels very much like we've lost some hard fought ground and I'm floundering to figure it out... 

The mundane is draining...

The time needed to prepare for what matters most feels squeezed out...

The fear of a parenting "crisis on the horizon" is frightening... 

I'm not sure, but it could be those things that led my eyes to this one small word...

REST.

As I read both of these verses I saw that in the first verse love rests on us.  In the second verse our faith rests on something else....hope. 

Could it be that hope is actually the love of God resting on me as I allow what I believe and understand to rest on Him? 

It's a vicious circle that actually works; one that produces movement and growth. A circle that is beautiful and leads to joy as it pushes our gaze to the eternal and shifts our perspective from the exhausting present.

What I know (knowledge) and what I believe (faith) can rest on hope because God doesn't lie. When I settle into that and refuse to be carried away by doubt and insecurity and a hundred other things that threaten my peace, I acknowledge and snuggle into the love of God already resting on me.....and all of that gives me confident hope.

This seems so trite and simple, to the point I hesitate to post it, but it's my lesson this week. And I'm starting to see the fruit of it.

My To Dos are getting done, from the mundane to the important, many with joy...

I am courageously preparing a message to teach that I never would've chosen on my own...

I am trusting Him daily for wisdom and patience to parent in a difficult stage; learning to be thankful for little victories...

There is security in settling my hope on God; both for the everydayness of this life and the perfection that awaits in heaven.  

Maybe acknowledging that His love rests on me even as I settle what I know and believe on the certainty of Him is all I needed to do...

"And she smiles at the future." Proverbs 31:25b NASB