Complete

Courtesy of Pinterest ... where else?

Hi there.  *Sniff*  I'm sacked out on the couch, watching The Love Bug and eating cherry turnover and thinking about how cool it is to watch Dean Jones movies before and after he became a Christian because he was so different after he got saved ... and anyway, trying to kick this silly cold / fever / sore throat so I can go to work tomorrow.  :-(  I've also been dragging around through Pinterest all day, looking at warm and healthful things to try to feel better. So far it's only working mentally.  :-)

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Between resting and chasing little brothers today, I've been thinking about a couple of things that are slightly related - the first is related to entertainment. I have seen in two separate places in the last week that evangelical Christians spend something like 7 times more hours watching TV than they do reading their Bibles and praying ... and I know even without calculating that I easily fall into that category. I don't have any deep or helpful comments on the topic yet, but it is something that I have been thinking and praying about a lot, so I know it will come up again. It's a very convicting and embarrassing statistic.

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Another thing I've been pondering is the quote that I posted for New Year's - including the Lord in every facet of my life. Only, that's not really the best way to put it - including Him? Like it's my life and I'm letting Him into it? Too often I know I have that mentality. In reality, because I have repented of my sins and trusted Him for salvation, "my life" as I know it no longer exists. The old Vicki is dead; now "to live is Christ" - it's His life, He owns it and has written it in its entirety, and all I have to do is rest, trust in Him, get to know Him and give Him my heart. He will direct the rest.

Why do I constantly come at it backwards? That I have to do so much "stuff" and then seek my Lord's face to get relief from my weariness? The Bible says that if I seek His face first, then all the "stuff" will fall into place.

The book of Hebrews compares it both to the Israelites' rest in the Promised Land and to God's rest on the Sabbath day of Creation - not forced rest, like a hospital stay; but more like a vacation. Relaxing and spending time with the One you love, because all of the work is done. He did it all on Calvary - He not only saved us from death and hell, but He fulfilled the Law and lived the perfect life, and when we receive His life, we receive this completeness, this holiness. It is His; we didn't earn it, we merely receive it. But it's ours just the same. Because of Him, I am clean and complete.

So if all of the work is already done and my job is simply to rest in Him, why do I constantly run around trying to be a better Christian, do more good works, be a nicer person - all in my own strength? Hudson Taylor explained:

How then to have our faith increased? Only by thinking of all that Jesus is and all He is for us: His life, His death, His work, He Himself as revealed to us in the Word, to be the subject of our constant thoughts. Not a striving to have faith... but a looking off to the Faithful One seems all we need; a resting in the Loved One entirely, for time and eternity. ...

"But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One."
    As I read, I saw it all! "If we believe not, he abideth faithful." I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed)! That He had said, "I will never leave thee."
    "Ah, there is rest!" I thought. "I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I'll strive no more. For has not He promised to abide with me -- never to leave me, never to fail me?" And... He never will.
    ... As I thought of the Vine and the branches, what light the blessed Spirit poured direct into my soul! How great seemed my mistake in wishing to get the sap, the fullness out of Him! I saw not only that Jesus will ever leave me, but that I am a member of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. The vine is not the root merely, but all -- root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit. And Jesus is not that alone -- He is soil and sunshine, air and showers, and ten thousand times more than we have ever dreamed, wished for or needed. Oh, the joy of seeing this truth!

Why is this so hard for me to learn? I don't know. Maybe I'm a control freak and can't give up my hold on my life; or maybe I just forget. I know I don't spend enough time with Him. How can I rest in Someone Whom I don't spend time with and get to know?

But regardless of whys and why-nots, I know that this is such a crucial, life-changing concept that I just have to get a hold of it. It's something that I've struggled with for years, and I really, really want to understand and apply it this year. I guess it's my New Year's resolution, of sorts.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you rest in Him? Are you trying to rest in Him? Have any of you struggled with this (and, hopefully, embraced it)? I want to know your experience with this concept - maybe not in these exact words, but this experience.

Bless us, Lord, as we seek to draw closer to You!

Love in Christ,
Vicki